Harbor Lights
by Miss Barrowmaniac
Summary: An accident changes the course of the Potter family, and it's up to Draco to pick up the pieces. WARNING: SLASH! This means a romantic/sexual relationship between two male characters, a gay relationship. Don't like it, don't read it!
1. Chapter 1

**Title:** Harbor Lights

**Author: **Miss Barrowmaniac

**Summary: **An accident changes the course of the Potter family, and it's up to Draco to pick up the pieces.

**Pairings: **Harry/Draco, mentions of Harry/Ginny, Draco/Astoria, Ron/Hermione and maybe others along the way.

**Rating: **T, for now.

**Warnings: **This is a SLASH story. It means there are two male characters involved in a romantic/sexual relationship. If this is not your thing, there are plenty of other good stories out there for you that won't cause unnecessary upset for either of us.

**Disclaimers: **I do not own Harry Potter or any associated trademarks, they're property of JK Rowling, WB and who knows who else. I don't get anything out of writing these stories expect the fun of doing so and hopefully entertaining my readers, so please don't sue me!

**Author's Note:** It's been a while since I wrote anything, and specially about Draco, who isn't usually a main character in my stories, so he's probably (not excessively) different from canon. I'd like to think it's because he grew up, but let me know if I'm going too far off! Also, the children are nothing like they are in the Epilogue - but that's mostly due to the circumstances, and is perfectly intentional. Finally, please leave me a review! If you can spare just a couple of minutes to let me know what you think, I'd be truly grateful. It's such an encouragement to get feedback.

* * *

**Harbor Lights**

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CHAPTER ONE

The deserted cobblestone street echoed the steps of the men gathering by a seemingly abandoned house, the heavy clouds providing them cover from the moonlight. The weak light coming from the street lamps was barely enough to reveal figures moving though the shadows in dark hooded robes, hardly emitting a sound in recognition of the new arrivals.

They came from all directions, reaching their destination a few minutes after faint cracking sounds were heard in the distance. The leader had arrived fifteen minutes before, five ahead of schedule, but was rapidly losing his temper for being made to wait. When finally the last one of them joined the group, the leader quietly motioned towards the door with his head and led them inside.

The stairs creaked under their feet, and though they'd been careful not to raise their voices, the noise didn't seem to bother any of them. They'd made sure there wasn't a single living soul in a radius of miles from the shed. In screaming contrast with everything they'd seen so far, the main room upstairs was in perfect condition, with a polished wooden table large enough to sit twenty, maybe thirty, and though they had a slight coating of dust, the elegant, matching chairs were in perfect shape.

With a quick flick of his wand, the leader cleaned the seats and took his place at the head of the table, giving his lackeys a few moments to settle while another silent spell was cast in the room, this time to make sure no sound escaped. Once they were at liberty to speak, chatter quickly spread among the present, but all it took for the man at the head of the table to silence them was raising a hand. All eyes turned to him, the atmosphere suddenly turning serious, almost solemn.

"We are gathered here to conclude the preparations of our carefully elaborated plans." His voice was low, but nobody in the room had any doubt about what was being said. Some even had to fight down shivers running though their arms in a mix of fear and anxiety provoked by the voice. "We all have lost, and in great measure, to our target. Perhaps it took ten years, but our shot at revenge has finally arrived, and it shall not be wasted. Either we finish our mission, or none of you will be alive to analyze what went wrong."

A few men swallowed hard at the threat, not for a moment doubting their leader's words.

"Are you all familiar with the plans?" A round of nods followed the question. "You better be certain of your position at all times, because one step left or right will get you killed, and I won't move a finger to change that, and neither will any of you. By tomorrow, they'll be dead and we'll have had our revenge. And if the repercussions of our attack are as planned, my friends, we shall rule the Wizard World as we are entitled to."

He carefully met the eyes of all the present, not failing to notice hesitance in a pair of hazel eyes in the furthest chair to his left.

"Do you have anything to add?" Though he didn't vocally direct the question to anybody, there was no doubt who he was talking to. A trembling head shake was his reply. "We have no room for hesitance here. Either you are completely committed to the plan, or you're out of it. Which one is it?"

"Master, I..." The voice sounded young compared to the only other sound they'd been hearing for the past few minutes, and the face it corresponded to seemed even more childish under the flickering light coming from the fireplace and the fear it transpired.

"Speak up." The order came in a low, authoritative tone, making all around the table shiver slightly.

"Are you sure it must be done this way? Certainly just killing-"

"They all must be dead." The hissed interruption was accompanied by the man standing up, wand pointing straight at the young man's chest. "You knew when you accepted my invitation what you were in for. There is no room for doubt or hesitation here."

"Y-yes, Master."

"Or for cowards." He said quietly. "Avada Kedavra." The room was filled by green light and the sound of the dead body slipping from his chair to the floor. Some eyes widened in panic, some averted their gaze slightly, but nobody dared make a sound. "Anybody else has anything to add?" He asked sitting back down, and immediately all heads shook in a negative reply. "Tomorrow we attack. Meeting adjourned."

* * *

"Mom, are you sure you don't mind? They're sick, and James gets very fussy when he's sick." Ginny asked her mom, handing little Lily over. The baby had just turned 11 months, and gladly moved to the arms stretched out to hold her. She adored her grandmother.

"Of course, Ginny dear. And it would be far worse if you had to drag them shopping with you. You know the boys hate it even when they're not sick." She smiled, looking over her shoulder to the living room couches where the two older boys were currently sleeping under their blankets.

With another Halloween just around the corner and an ever-expanding family - Molly was now at 12 grandchildren, and still expecting her children to provide her with an even larger herd -, celebrations were in increasing demand.

That year's party would be at the Potters new estate, a country house with enough rooms to accommodate the whole extended family and a large enough yard to allow everybody to mingle comfortably and even set up full-team Quidditch matches. As a special treat for the sport lovers in the family - himself included -, Harry had concealed Quidditch poles and set in place spells that wouldn't allow the snitch to escape the property, allowing them to have real games when they got together and hopefully, in the near future, for his children to practice when they joined their Hogwarts teams. James already showed great interest in the sport.

"Go on, then!" Molly shooed her daughter, smiling. She'd arrived at Grimmauld Place not too long before, and Harry smiled as she was already feeling at home enough to boss them around.

"Come on, Gin. The kids will be alright." He smiled at her, resting a hand on her lower back and steering her towards the fireplace. "Of course, as long as your mom can restrain from giving them too many sweets..." He joked as they entered the fireplace, and the couple smiled as they disappeared, being spared the short lecture that would surely follow.

Harry and Ginny arrived at the Leaky Caldron, and spent several minutes greeting nearly every costumer, as they always were forced to do when they went anywhere public. Even now, after nearly ten years of the end of the war, the bespectacled man was still treated like a celebrity, much to his dismay, and by extension, also was his family. He dreaded to think what it might do to his children once they were old enough to understand.

Finally free to move on to their shopping, their first stop was Madam Malkin's. They'd decided to have a costume party, and so far none of the hosts had spared a second thought to their outfits. Harry was a little scared of that part of their trip - he knew by experience that Ginny, like every other woman he knew, could spend hours trying on clothes, just to decide they don't fit them after all -, and put all his energy into being as patient and nice as he possibly could.

"Mr. and Mrs. Potter! What a pleasure to have you in my shop!" Madam Malkin greeted them cheerfully, slowly making her way towards them. The years had taken their toll on her, certainly aggravated by the stress of the war, but still she refused to retire. According to her, she still hadn't found an apprentice whom she could trust. "What brings you here today?"

Due to their public status, short after the war was over and things returned to a relative normalcy, they'd both agreed to avoid public spaces if at all possible, and generally had a house elf run their errands, including shopping for clothes. As a "special costumer", the shop owner often allowed them to take their clothes home to try on before deciding what to keep, so it'd been years since they set foot in the place.

"We're looking for Halloween costumes." Ginny smiled, and the other woman visibly brightened up.

"For your little ones, I assume?" She asked, turning her back at them and heading to a room on the right, motioning for them to follow. "It's a shame they couldn't join you, I'd love to meet them, and it'd make it so much easier to get the proper fit for their clothes..." Her voice trailed off.

Ginny and Harry looked at each other moments after entering the room, equally surprised looks on their faces. It was an enormous room with all available space covered in every costume imaginable, in every size.

"Are you looking for anything specific?" The old woman's voice brought their attention back to the matter at hand.

"James says he wants to be a Quidditch Player." Harry smiled. "Chuddley Cannons, under his uncle's influence."

"But that is so... Common, Harry..." Ginny whined, sighing.

"It's what he wants, Gin. Trust me, nothing else will make him as happy."

"Well, I suppose..." She agreed, letting her eyes wander around.

"How old is the boy again?"

"He's five." Harry supplied, smiling kindly at Madam Malkin, who disappeared behind a pile of costumes and returned shortly after with the said costume, handing it to him. "I think the size is about right, what do you think?" He asked, turning to Ginny.

"Hm." She looked thoughtful for a moment, turning the costume in her hands. "I guess it'll do... Maybe the sleeves will be a bit long, but we can have one of the elves bring it back for adjustments in the morning." She nodded.

"I guess it's complicated to shop with children, especially when you're as famous as you." The older woman smiled gently.

"We were planning to bring them, but they're down with the flu." Harry explained while Ginny walked around the room, looking at the costumes.

"Oh, what a shame! The little one too?"

"No, Lily's fine, but babies are complicated, and Molly offered to babysit."

"There's one woman who loves children."

"How about this one for Lily?" Ginny turned to him holding a costume by the hanger.

"You are not dressing my daughter as a pumpkin." He said seriously, almost shocked she even suggested it.

"Why not? I think she'd look adorable..."

"No food costumes, Gin. They're children, not..." He paused for a moment, looking for the right word. Unsuccessfully, he completed lamely, "Food."

She shrugged. "I still think it'd be good..." She mumbled, putting it back on the rack and moving on.

"What has been popular this year?" Harry asked the shop owner.

"Oh, you are ever popular, Mr. Potter." She giggled, and Harry felt the blood rushing to his cheeks. He scratched the back of his neck, embarrassed. "By far the most requested. But Quidditch players are always popular, mostly among boys. As are dragons, and this year also that child hero from the new book series?" He nodded. Apparently there was a new fictional hero selling millions of copies for children between nine and thirteen. "Girls prefer fairies and veelas and other more delicate costumes."

"Sounds about the same it used to be in the muggle world when I was growing up." He smiled, remembering all the Halloweens he never got to dress up to or go trick-or-treating.

"You know, the other day a boy came in, he was about... eight, I think, and he insisted he wanted to dress up as a muggle. His parents weren't very happy, and tried to dissuade him, but he threw a tantrum and refused to leave without the costume." They laughed, and the sound attracted Ginny's attention, who glanced quickly at them before turning away again.

"Well, muggles like to pretend they're witches and wizards, so I suppose the other way around is also possible..."

"They do, do they?"

"Yeah, but you should see some of the things they think wizards are..." He smiled.

"How about this one, Harry? Specially for Ron..." She smiled at him, holding a spider costume with animated legs. He laughed. "Yeah, I guess it doesn't look much like Lily or Albus...

"Hey, we could have Albus be Godric Griffyndor, with a sword and all..."

"Harry, I absolutely do not want a sword in the hands of a three-year-old, even if it's a fake one." She replied seriously.

"I suppose you're right... Maybe we could get him half-moon glasses and a white beard and have him be his namesake?"

"Or a black wig and black robes and be his other namesake." They smiled at each other.

Two hours later, they finally made it out of the shop with all five costumes they'd need: Harry would be a troll, in honor of the first Halloween he spent in Hogwarts; Ginny chose a mermaid's costume, open on the end so she could actually walk; James would have his Quidditch uniform, and they decided to match Albus with him; and Lily would be a lovely black cat, the only costume they managed to agree on.

Clothes shopping done, they headed to the Weasley's Wizard Wheezes to make sure George was on the same page as them on what would be brought to the party - even after he'd had kids of his own, they still doubted his common sense when it came to age-appropriate pranks -; the next stop was the party supplies and, just to be certain, the new potions shop to make sure they'd have all first-aid gear necessary in case the Quidditch game which would inevitably be organized got out of hand. And, though it was already very cold for that time of the year, they decided to have some ice-cream at Florean Fortescue's before heading home.

It was as they were sitting and talking about the latest report James got from pre-school - it seemed his cousin Fred wasn't being too good an influence on him -, that the mayhem started.

The events unfolded very rapidly. On one moment, they were enjoying their treats, on the next, they were covered in dust, with people screaming and running left and right, and hearing spells hissing past and over their heads. With his auror instincts kicking into gear, Harry kneeled, pulling Ginny with him and turned their table into a shield. When he looked at Ginny again, the redhead nodded at him, wand at hand.

Trying to see through the dust gathering around them, he noticed a figure about ten feet away, and the spell coming out of his wand headed their way. Without a second thought, he struck back, missing the first try, but knocking the man unconscious on the second. With his back against the table, he looked around again, just as Ginny hit a man on her side, brows furrowed in concentration.

"What the hell is going on?" He heard the redhead ask over the noise.

"No clue!" He replied, cowering a little when a spell hit the table just beside his head, blowing a hole into it. "You have to get out of here!"

"Me? What about you?" She would've been mad at him if she weren't too busy fighting for her life.

"I'm an auror, Ginny! I have to be here and make sure everybody else is safe until backup arrives!" As he said it, he realized he hadn't sent for backup yet and immediately let out a silver stag.

"Well, I'm staying here for as long as you are!" Harry smiled, peeking over the table. "I think there's more coming that way!" She exclaimed, getting his attention again. She was pointing to the completely unprotected way ahead of them.

With the dust settling down, they were finally able to make out who they were fighting.

The figures in dark robes, with their faces covered by the pointed hoods, reminded them both too much of Death Eaters for either of them not be apprehensive.

"We have to get out of here." Harry whispered as much to himself as to his wife. With a quick glance around again, he realized their attackers were the only living beings around them - living, because he counted at least three bodies spread on the ground. They were obviously the target of the attack.

"Help will be here any moment now." He heard Ginny say, and couldn't tell if she was trying to reassure him or herself. "W-we'll be fine."

"Let's just apparate out of here, Gin."

"What about the innocents around? We have to protect them." She insisted, quickly glancing over her shoulder before casting another spell which, judging by the sound, missed its target.

"They're dead already." He replied bitterly, dodging a spell aimed between them. "The attack is on us. Me, probably. Maybe if we leave, they also will."

"I don't know, Harry."

Before they could continue their discussion, a wall to their left exploded, throwing debris over them and barely giving them time to cast a shield over themselves. Furious, Harry cast a series of spells, less concerned with accuracy than with frequency of the shots, and after fifteen or twenty seconds, things seemed to calm down slightly.

"Do you think they're..." Ginny stumbled at the words, but forced herself to finish her question. "Death Eaters?"

"Looks like it, Gin." He nodded weakly, trying to see where the remaining attackers were. "I thought we'd caught them all, but it would seem I was wrong. But why wait so long before resurfacing, that's beyond me..." His voice trailed off as another spell left the tip of his wand.

They remained in tense silence for a few seconds, both sides catching their breaths. Harry could see shadows moving, indicating he hadn't taken them all down yet.

"Ten years, Harry..." Ginny said suddenly, thoughtful.

"What?" He asked confusedly.

"The announcement." She explained. "After ten years, security measures were considerably lowered, because they thought they'd gotten all of them..."

"No patrols." Harry remembered out loud. "No permanent protection spells, no suspects being tracked anymore."

The redhead nodded. "The Minister announced just the other day that things were officially back to normal."

Harry cursed out loud, but his voice was muffled by the sound of another explosion. Ginny stretched up to look at the apparent point of origin of the enemy fire, and a moment of distraction was all it took. She was pointing her wand and considering what spell to cast, then she wasn't.

The brunet was concentrated on disbursing the debris, and only noticed the motion on his peripheral vision, being unable to assess what exactly had happened.

"Gin?" He called, trying to make sure it was safe to look away from the massive piece of wall hovering above their heads. They were still under enemy attack. "Ginny?" There was a little more than worry in his voice; there was a distinct note of desperation. Hoping his magic would be strong enough to protect them, he looked away, and immediately wished he hadn't. "Ginny!"

His scream could be heard all through Diagon Alley, and the threw himself over her motionless body, dropping his wand and any other thought in his mind. He barely had time to kneel beside her and grab her shoulders, intent on shaking her back into life, before the wall fell on his head.


	2. Chapter 2

CHAPTER TWO

"When are mom and dad coming home?" James asked before sneezing. He'd woken up from his nap about twenty minutes before, and was utterly bored, having been forced by his grandmother to remain on the couch - with the only option being returning to his own bed. At least in the living room, he'd be able to talk to Albus when the boy woke up, and maybe convince Lily to play with him, even if it had to be with her baby toys.

"Soon, sweetheart." She smiled kindly, running a hand through his hair, which was wet with sweat. She noticed he was still feverish, but his temperature had noticeably lowered. "I'll go set the tub so you can have a bath in a moment."

"I don't want to take a bath." He complained, making the woman giggle. The twins had been exactly the same when they were his age.

"I know, but you have to. And then we'll get you out of those wet clothes and you'll feel a lot better."

"Then you'll let me play?"

"Maybe. We'll see." He made a face at her, but she ignored him, picking Lily up. "Come on, little girl. Let's get your brother's bath ready." She smiled, and the baby giggled before engaging in some conversation composed mostly of babbling, occasionally interjected by the adult who pretended to understand what was being said.

When Molly returned to the living room a couple of minutes later - to make things easier, she not only turned on the water in the bathtub with a spell to stop the flow as soon as it reached a certain level, but also separated a clean pair of pajamas for the older boy, and left it over the sink -, she found James sitting on the floor, building some sort of fortress with Lily's piling blocks. A bit divided between lecturing him and being pleased he was now well enough to play, she just smiled to herself and headed for the kitchen to grab Lily's dinner.

"Let's go, Jamie." She smiled at the boy, motioning the stairs. "Let's go take a shower and then I'll let you play."

He seemed to consider the offer for a minute. "Okay!" He said with a smile, rushing up the stairs. By the time she reached the bathroom - she'd cast a spell over the sleeping boy, to be notified when he woke up -, the brunet was already soaking in the warm water. She sat with the baby on the closed toilet, and mercifully this time food was enough to entertain Lily while she supervised James's bath.

"Don't forget to wash behind your ears, your belly button and between your toes, Jamie." She reminded him, trying to keep the food inside the bowl while Lily put some in her mouth and decided the rest looked better on grandma's lap.

"I know, grandma." He replied slightly annoyed, but immediately cleaned where he was told. He was already playing with his toys - ten minutes, Molly said, no more -, when Albus woke up, and the redhead had a string of advices and orders out before leaving him alone in the room.

"Hi, Albus." She smiled at the boy who was still lying down, his eyes still distant as he wasn't fully awake yet. "Are you feeling better?"

"Yeah." He smiled, rubbing his eyes and sitting up. "Where's everybody?" He asked, looking around.

"Your mom and dad went shopping, and should be home soon. Jamie is taking a bath, and you're next." She smiled at him, who stuck his tongue out. Another one who wasn't too fond of water. "Are you hungry?"

He thought for a moment. "A little."

"I'll get you something to eat, then." She stood up, but Lily started squirming in her arms. "Will you look after Lily while I go, sweetheart? It seems she wants to stay here with you."

"Okay." He nodded.

Molly put the baby down on the carpet, where the girl immediately proceeded to destroy whatever her older brother was building, and smiled as she cast a protective spell around her. Albus was responsible for his age, but he was still three, and it would be better if the little girl stayed away from anything she could climb or hurt herself with.

Less than five minutes later, she was back with much the same assortment of food she'd given Lily: some mac-and-cheese incremented with peas and corn. Albus smiled, gratefully grabbing his bowl and diving in. He was hungrier than he realized.

"I'll go get James out of the water. Do you want to come with me, Lily?" She asked the girl, pointing up the stairs, and the girl vehemently shook her head. "Will you be okay with her for a few minutes, Al?" The boy nodded. "Okay, then. I'll be right back."

After arguing with the five-year-old for a few moments, she managed to get him out of the water, dried and dressed. As promised, she left him in his room, sitting on the floor playing with his toys, but only after making sure he was coated up - and that he wouldn't strip down to his pajamas as soon as she left. She cast a heating spell on the water in the tub before heading down again.

"Ready for your bath, Al?" She invited with a smile, and the boy nodded, handing her his now-empty bowl.

Two hours later, all three children were tucked in and fast asleep, but there was still no sign of either Harry or Ginny. Telling herself they probably decided to add a romantic dinner to their day out, now they finally had some time alone to themselves, she roamed the study in search of something to read and sat comfortably before the fireplace to wait for their return.

Several hours later, Molly shifted her position in the couch and woke up, never having realized she'd fallen asleep. Rubbing her eyes, she put away the book resting open on her chest and put on her glasses to consult her watch. It was just past four in the morning. Feeling distinctly uncomfortable, but still unable to pin down why, she got up and stretched, ready to go home. Perhaps Harry and Ginny saw her sleeping when they turned in and decided not to wake her up. So perhaps she should extend the same courtesy to her husband - certainly the other two would've told Arthur she was staying over - and headed to the guest room.

The house was quiet, and she tried her best to avoid the creaky wooden steps, but not knowing quite which ones they were, some noise was unavoidable. Having reached the second floor without, seemingly, waking anybody up, she headed to the guest room, just down the hall from the master bedroom. Everything was silent, and still sleepy, she didn't look twice when she walked past the open door. If she had, she would've noticed the bed was still perfectly made.

It was only the next morning, when Lily's insistent crying woke her up, that she remembered the discomfort from the previous night. Her gut told her something was wrong, but she was decided to ignore it. Certainly it was only her mother's heart over-worrying. She scrambled out of bed and stumbled towards the baby's room, this time noticing the master bedroom empty. _Perhaps they went out again,_ she thought. _I just wish they would've woken me up before they did._ She repressed a yawn.

Pulling Lily out of her crib - she would've long climbed out herself, but nowadays all wizard cribs came with multiple spells to prevent it -, she repressed another yawn and headed to the bathroom, mindlessly talking to the baby to distract her. Morning ablutions done, she focused on getting Lily ready for the day and then, after making sure both boys were still asleep, getting started on their breakfast.

Looking downstairs, she didn't find any notes from her daughter or son-in-law, and again something pressing in the back of her mind warned her something was awfully wrong. Shaking her head to try and dissipate the feeling, she put Lily in a high chair and handed her a sippy cup with milk while she scouted the fridge.

Though she knew it wouldn't have made a difference, later she wished she hadn't ignored her instincts. Right then when she put the kids to bed, she should've contacted someone, anyone, who might know Harry and Ginny's whereabouts. When she woke up at four and saw, but didn't register, the empty bedroom, she should've woken up anyone who might know anything. And when she didn't find a note, she should've expected a visit from someone in her family bearing news which, by then, couldn't be good.

She turned when she heard knocking on the door, momentarily confused. None of the boys would've done that, and her heart was already racing, and her breath was already short as her brain worked things out, even though she wasn't fully aware of it. Hermione was standing there, and no amount of makeup would've been able to cover up her red and swollen eyes. It was clear she'd been crying, a lot and recently.

"Come, sit, Hermione dear!" She ushered the brunette, pointing to an empty chair. "I'll make you some breakfast and we can talk about whatever's bothering you so-" She stopped dead in her tracks as she watched the other woman shake her head and snif. "Okay, no breakfast then..." She said quietly. "At least have a seat." She wasn't smiling anymore.

"Mrs. Weasley..." She started, and her voice trembled. She felt she would pass out at any moment, and knowing the other woman would need to be seated to hear the news as much as she would to relay them, she accepted the offer. "Molly..." she tried again as the older woman held her hand in hers, her tears starting to fall again.

"What is it, dear? You know you can tell me anything, right?" She offered gently, weakly rubbing her thumb on the back of Hermione's hand.

The brunette shook her head. "H-How can I ever t-tell you something like this?" She sniffed hard, withdrawing one hand to brush the tears away. She had to be strong, she reminded herself. She'd volunteered for the task, even because none of the redheads was in any condition of doing it.

"I'm certain that, whatever it is, it can't be that bad." She tried to sound reassuring, but the pounding in her chest and the hesitation in the young woman before her were making her extremely uneasy. "Just tell me and we'll find a way to sort it out."

Hermione shook her head again. "I-It can't be sorted out." She whispered. "It can't be fixed. It..." Her voice trailed off, and she bit her lower lip, scenes from the Diagon Alley returning to mind. "Molly... Yesterday... H-Harry and G-Ginny, they..."

Fighting her urge to interrupt, to demand answers, Molly took a deep breath and silently waited until the other woman was ready to continue.

"T-There was an attack at Diagon Alley. T-They were at Florean's, and witnesses said they came out of nowhere... There were explosions and curses flying everywhere. I-I guess Harry wanted to stay and p-protect the innocent..." She bit her lower lip again, looking down.

"That sounds like him." She offered gently, fighting the tightness in her chest.

"A-and Ginny wouldn't leave him... T-They said they had them surrounded... And they k-knocked down a bunch of them, even k..." She stumbled on the word and swallowed hard before continuing. "Killed some. B-but something happened, something went wrong, the aurors didn't get there in time, nobody is sure of what exactly happened..."

"And what happened?"

"H-Harry... Harry's in a c-coma, and G-Ginny... G-Ginny... Died." She whispered the last word, but Molly had no doubt about what had been said, even over Lily's insistent babbling.

The redhead's mind couldn't seem to wrap itself around the news. How could it possibly be? Just the day before, she saw them, they were fine, they went shopping... The war had been over for so long, how could this be happening now?

"Who... Who's them? The attackers?" She asked weakly.

She watched Hermione take a deep breath and search for her eyes before whispering the words that raised every hair in her body. "Death Eaters."

The two sat in silence for a long time. What was there to be said anyway?

Lily, forgotten, was becoming fussy, her insistent attempts at interactions proving fruitless and her milk long over. She started hitting the cup on the tray, but still she wasn't able to get either women's attention.

"The aurors got there as it was happening... The Death Eaters were about to start celebrating... They managed to capture some that engaged in battle... And of course the ones who were knocked out... There were a few casualties... They think they've got them all, but they're not certain... Nobody could say how many there were, and in the chaos... Some might have apparated... I told them, I told them it was too soon to relax security measures..."

The brunette's words floated vaguely in Molly's brain, mostly unabsorbed. They weren't much more than background noise, the same as that constant banging... What was that banging anyway? That was when she noticed the baby, now fully crying, and it hit her: She'd not only lost a daughter and possibly a son-in-law. Those three little children had lost their parents. And somebody would have to tell them.

"The... The kids." She managed to say weakly.

Hermione nodded. "They have to know. And I don't suppose Harry or Ginny left any kind of..." Her voice was steady, but she faltered over the word. "Will or anything, but as they made Ron and me their godparents... We'd be glad to care for them until Harry recovers."

"Of course... Arthur and I would be glad to help with whatever we can, as I'm sure would the rest of the family." The ghost of a smile, a tentative reassuring gesture, flashed through Molly's face, but was all too soon washed out by the reality of the facts. "Who... Who should tell Jamie and Albus?"

Hermione sighed. "I... I'll do it if you want me to. Ron and I discussed it before I came, and I personally don't think him or any of his brothers should. They're... in no condition."

"Maybe I should." Molly suggested. Hard as it might be, perhaps it would be easier on the boys...

The brunet nodded. "I also think it would be better. Would you like me to come with you?"

Half an hour later, the two were cradling crying boys in their arms, fighting their own tears. Lily, still too young to understand, was sitting on the floor with her toys, oblivious to what was happening around her. None of them had breakfast that morning, and the boys, exhausted from crying, fell asleep again and only woke up when it was time for lunch.

"Where's mommy and daddy?" Albus asked, standing at the kitchen door.

It felt like a knife piercing through her heart. Taking a deep breath, Molly left the stove and kneeled in front of him. "Remember what we talked about this morning, Al?" She asked as gently as she could. "Mommy is in Heaven now, sweetie. And dad is very sick in the hospital."

"When can I see them?" He tilted his head sideways, looking curiously at her. Perhaps he was too young to understand, she thought.

"You can't, honey."

"Why not?" He pouted his lip.

"Because... Because mommy is in Heaven now, Al. She's up there," She pointed to the sky beyond the ceiling, "watching over you. And daddy is too sick to see anybody." The older women had agreed it was better not to let them see Harry until he started recovering. The truth was, he wasn't just in coma; several of his bones had been crushed under the weight of the wall, and there were bruises all over him. None of the kids needed anything else to have nightmares about.

"But I want my mommy and daddy!" He started to cry again, and she picked him up.

"I know, sweetie. I know." She whispered, rubbing one hand on his back.

The entire day consisted of Molly - and later on, some other relatives showed up to help - explaining to the boys what had happened, soothing the older two and trying to keep Lily distracted enough not to be too fussy. Still hesitant to move the children, the Weasley matriarch volunteered to sleep at Grimmauld Place again, but Hermione (for Ron's despair, as he was left alone with a baby and a toddler), insisted they switched places, and some of the other aunts took turns the following morning.

Three days later, it seemed they had pinned down a working routine: they all took turns watching over the younger two and getting James to preschool - if anything, it provided him some much-needed distraction -, and were making considerations as to how the move should go. Though their house wasn't too big, there was enough room at Ron and Hermione's to shelter three others, and they were working on sorting out the space and making lists of what would go and what would stay at Grimmauld Place.

Hermione also had talked to a colleague at the Ministry, and he reassured her it was only a matter of bureaucracy before they were the children's legal guardians. With the usual excess of paperwork going on, it was taking a while to make sure if any of the parents had registered a will appointing guardians, but with Harry and Ginny being who they were, they had every set of hands they could spare on the job. As long as the children didn't disappear, they should care for them the way they thought it best.

As such, it was a surprise when, as Molly got ready to leave her shift and Hermione settled in, a Ministry worker knocked at the door. The knocking itself had been surprising; usually he would've solicited passage through the fireplace, but the two women courteously invited him inside and the redhead readily presented him with a hot cup of tea. Hermione thought he seemed familiar, and it took her a beat to realized he was about two years her junior at Hogwarts, and that they had in fact crossed paths in the Ministry a few times.

"So, what brings you here today, Mr. Jones?" She smiled at him before taking a sip.

He mimicked her gesture before replying. "We have found a will in the name of one Harry James Potter."

"Oh!" Both women said in unison, surprised.

"I hadn't realized..." Hermione began.

"Did Ginny have one too?" Molly questioned, but the man shook his head.

"Well, and what did it say?" Hermione asked, confidently. Certainly he left his inheritances to be shared between the children, and have her and Ron care for them. Perhaps Molly and Arthur, if Ginny had a disagreement with her brother short before Harry wrote the will. It should be pretty simple and short.

"We found that Mr. Potter appointed a legal guardian to his children should anything happen to him and his wife." Both women nodded. That should solve any legal problems they might encounter. "He requests his children be raised by Mr. Draco Lucius Malfoy."


	3. Chapter 3

CHAPTER THREE

"He requests his children be raised by Mr. Draco Lucius Malfoy."

"What?" Both women chorused, shocked, refusing to believe their ears.

"Certainly there must've been some sort of misunderstanding." Hermione said, shaking her head and standing up impatiently. "Harry hated that bastard, he'd never do something like this... Whatever document you found has to be some sort of forgery." She decided, looking at the man again. Molly nodded vehemently from the couch.

"I can see you're upset, Mrs. Weasley, both of you, but I'm afraid there has been no mistake. The document clearly states that-"

"And how can you even know Harry was the one who wrote it?"

"I'm afraid there's no doubt about that either. Thorough tests have been made, and there's no question about its legitimacy. Mr. Potter's magical signature is all over the document, and both his witnesses confirm the will was signed by Mr. Potter willingly."

"And who the hell are those witnesses?"

"They are both Ministry workers who, by Mr. Potter's request, shall remain anonymous to the public. They are, however, completely trustworthy."

"And how come they didn't come forward before? Why would they let you spend days looking for a document we weren't even sure existed when there were people out there who knew for a fact it did?"

"That's also part of Mr. Potter's wishes." He explained quietly, sipping his already cold tea as he watched the brunette pace for a moment longer before sitting back down. "I can see this is unexpected, but it by no means is final. Though Mr. Potter has requested Mr. Malfoy to be the legal guardian of his children, it is ultimately up to a judge to decide who'll be in charge of the minors. The process is being rushed, with Mr. Potter being who he is, and a hearing should be scheduled for the next few days. All his immediate family will be notified, and at that point you shall enter with a petition for the guardianship of the children. If you know any good lawyers, I strongly encourage you to contact them immediately."

The disagreements between Harry and Draco were well known, and even more so was the role the Malfoy family played for most of the war. Although it was his job to inform the family of Harry's wishes, by no means he agreed with them. The last thing he wished was to see the three small children placed under a Malfoy's care.

"And there's no other way around it?" Molly asked quietly. Wasn't it enough of a nightmare that her daughter was dead and her son-in-law might never wake up?

"I am afraid not. In consideration for your suffering, the Minister himself interfered to have the children remain at their own house until the trial is over, but he cannot interfere with the judge's ruling, whichever it might be." He watched the two women in silence for a few minutes. "And..." He added as an afterthought. "Please don't even consider disappearing with the children. I know it might be tempting, but if you do, it'll be almost a given that any judge will award Mr. Malfoy custody."

Hermione bit her lower lip, nodding. The thought had indeed crossed her mind, as she was certain happened to Molly, but she had to agree with the man.

Mr. Jones stood up. "I believe, for now, my job here is done." He said quietly, grabbing the case he'd left at his feet. "I'll show myself out." He offered, turning towards the door.

"Does... Does Malfoy know about this yet?" The younger woman asked.

"I'm on my way there right now."

* * *

Two days later, all the Weasleys who could make it were at the Ministry, formally dressed and anxiously waiting for the proceedings to start. All three children were also there, the two boys complaining about their clothes and distracting themselves with the toys they'd been allowed to bring along, and Lily fast asleep in Molly's arms. They were directed to a room at the very end of a poorly-lit hall on level two, and waiting by the door were none other than Draco and his attorney.

Immediately, most of the redheads made faces of disgust, but much to their surprise, the two boys, upon laying eyes on the platinum blond man, dropped their toys and ran his way.

"Uncle Draco!" They called happily as the man lowered on one knee to catch the children in his arms.

"Hey, buddy." He smiled, ruffling James' hair. "Look at you, so grown up..." He joked, making the boy smile and a faint shade of pink hit his cheeks. "And you, Al! You'll soon be as tall a me!"

The three-year-old giggled. "No I won't, uncle Draco!" He threw his little arms around the man's neck, and Draco picked him up as he stood.

"Get away from them." Molly hissed as they got into hearing distance of each other.

Draco raised an eyebrow but, before he could say anything, his lawyer touched his arm and shook his head. Understanding the signaled message, the blond put the boy down and gently pushed the two back to the herd of redheads.

"You know him?" Hermione asked gently, but hesitantly, as James stopped beside her.

The boy smiled. "Yeah, we see him all the time! Oh!" He remembered, turning back to Draco. "Where's Scorpius, uncle Draco?"

"He's at home with his mom." He replied gently before frowning again as he looked up to the adults in front of him. "What, you don't have enough money for Floo Powder anymore so you all have to be here to hear the news first hand?" He mocked, old habits kicking in before he could stop himself, and his lips curling up in a smirk.

"Mr. Malfoy..." His attorney whispered as Arthur and George tried to hold Ron back.

At that moment, a short wizard dressed in formal, black robes opened the door. "If you would please enter the hearing room." He asked, holding the door open for them.

They all entered the small room in silence, and if Draco and his attorney weren't required to stay in the middle of the arena-like room, there would be no way for the Weasleys to be away from him in the suddenly overcrowded room.

A moment later, the judge entered the room and silence fell over them. Even the children seemed to understand something very serious was happening, and stayed as still as they could stand, and didn't let out a single sound while they discreetly played with their toys on their laps. After a short opening speech, and before he gave anybody else the chance to say anything, the judge requested the two boys, one at a time, to go with him and the two attorneys to his chambers for a quick interview so they could be sent home.

"Very well, all three children shall be taken home now, and we shall proceed with the custodial hearing." Judge Thomas said as he took his seat. "I have here the will for one Mr. Harry James Potter, to be applied should both he and his late wife not be able to continue to care for their offspring. It states here all three should be placed in the home of Mr. Draco Lucius Malfoy, to be raised by him and his eventual spouse. I understand this document has become the source of dispute between the appointed guardian and the children's godparents, is that correct?"

"Yes, your honor." Both attorneys replied in unison.

"I understand Mr. Malfoy is capable and willing to assume such responsibility?"

"Yes, your honor." Draco answered politely.

"And Mr. and Mrs. Weasley believe it's not in the best interest of the children to be placed with Mr. Malfoy?"

"Yes, your honor." Ron and Hermione replied.

"Very well. Each attorney will have their chance to present their case and bring on any witnesses they see fit. Once both sides have been argued, I shall deliberate over the case. Mr. Richards, you shall start." He nodded to Draco's lawyer, who nodded back and stood up.

"Thank you, your honor." For the next twenty minutes, he explained how beneficial the environment at the Malfoy Manor would be for the children's growth, facilitated by Draco's extensive resources, which in turn meant none of the inheritance left for the children would have to be touched until they all turned 21. Apparently satisfied with himself, he called Draco to the witness stand. "Mr. Malfoy, you're here today because you want to be granted, as Mr. Potter wished, the custody of his children, is that correct?"

"Yes."

"What was the nature of your relationship with Mr. and Mrs. Potter?"

"Harry was my friend. His wife was... his wife. She and I never really got along."

"It is a great responsibility and proof of trust to delegate to you the task of raising his children."

"Yes, it is."

"Do you believe you'd be a fit parent for them?"

"Yes, I do."

"You already have one son. How do you believe the addition of another three would affect the dynamics at your home?"

"I understand there is a great difference between raising one and raising four, but I have no doubt my wife and I would be able to appropriately care for all of them. We have more than enough room in our home, and money in our account, to make sure they're never in need of anything material, and Astoria and I are willing to devote as much time and attention to them as they may need."

"Was it a surprise to you to be appointed as the children's guardian?"

"Partially. Harry had already confided in me the possibility, but like everybody else here today, I never believe circumstances would require such extreme measures."

"But it's fair to say it was surprising, shocking even, to the Weasley family, correct?" Draco nodded. "Why do you think that was?"

"It's no secret Harry and I have been... unfriendly during our time together at Hogwarts, and we weren't overly public with our relationship after the war either, so it wouldn't surprise me to know only a select few of his friends were aware of our friendship."

"I believe it could be said it was more than... rivalry?"

"Well, we pretty much hated each other. And after the rise of the Dark Lord, I admit things became a lot tenser between us. But that's all in the past now. The war made us grow, and so has time, and once we looked past our disagreements, we discovered we had quite a lot in common."

"And it's because of your friendship that Mr. Potter would name you as the guardian?"

"I believe so, yes."

"He had other friends. What makes you so special?"

"I can't be certain. But I believe he thought my wife and I were the most... adequate people, all aspects considered, to take responsibility for his children."

"Thank you. That's all for that witness, your honor."

The judge nodded to the other lawyer.

"Mr. Malfoy, isn't it true that you were a Death Eater for He-who-must-not-be-named?"

"For a short period of time, yes."

"And how long was that?"

"Just under two years."

"You stopped being one of his followers when he died, isn't that correct?"

"Objection, your honor!" Draco's attorney stood up. "Relevance."

"It is well-known the Malfoys had straight ties to You-know-who." The judge nodded. "Get to your point."

"Yes, your honor." He agreed, slightly annoyed by the interruption. "Mr. Malfoy, as a former follower of You-know-who, how can you see yourself as a potential positive influence in the life of any child?"

"The circumstances surrounding my days as a Death Eater have already been extensively discussed in the courts right here at the Ministry, and clearly I haven't been prosecuted for any crimes. Moreover, as I've already stated, I have changed considerably since then. I was only sixteen when I was forced to join his ranks; I am a completely different man now, with a lot to offer to those children."

"Even if you have changed as you claim, don't you believe a family like the Weasley's would provide a healthier environment for the children? They have, after all, been on the side of the Light from the start and all throughout the wars."

"Clearly Harry didn't believe so."

"And what do you think, Mr. Malfoy?"

"I believe we can provide a different, though equally if not more beneficial, environment for the kids to thrive in. More than that, having been honored with such task, I will devote myself to making sure I raise them exemplarily to be the best people they can be in all aspects of their lives."

"It's a noble sentiment, Mr. Malfoy, but how can we be sure you won't... return to bad habits and take innocent children with you?"

"I won't, but it seems you'll just have to take my word for it."

"One last thing, Mr. Malfoy. Are you aware that the attack that rendered those children orphans was the work of Death Eaters?"

"I have read it in the newspapers, yes."

"And you have admitted your connection to the group here today. Perhaps you were behind it?"

"Objection! Speculation!"

" I'll rephrase it your honor. You have known ties to the Death Eaters who killed Ginevra Potter and put Harry Potter in a coma. Law enforcement has uncovered that the children were also expected to be at the location of the attack, and the group had been ordered to eliminate them as well. Wouldn't they be more vulnerable at your home than with the Weasleys?"

"Whatever they did, it had nothing to do with me. Harry was my friend, and I would never do anything like that. It was tragic, but you don't have any evidence that even points my way and, let me tell you, you won't find any, because I wasn't involved in the attack. I just want what's best for those poor children, and the best for them is to be with me."

The two men exchanged an angry look before the attorney turned his back at him.

"That is all, your honor."

"You may step down, Mr. Malfoy."

After Draco, a few more witnesses were brought on before the hearing was suspended for the day, to be continued the following morning. The trial lasted three days, and by the end of it, they were all exhausted, even more so by the constant nervous state they all found themselves in. Draco's attorney's last words still rung in the room when the judge retired to his chambers to deliberate.

_Mr. Potter has done so much for all of us, and it was his belief Mr. Malfoy is the most appropriate to care for his children in his absence. Will you really overrule Mr. Potter's final wishes, your honor?_

Excruciating twenty minutes later, they all stood as the judge returned to the room, looking grave but evidently having come to a decision. The sound of them all taking their seats echoed through the silent room, and a few apprehensive moments later, Judge Thomas spoke.

"In spite of the tragic events that bring us together today, it makes me very glad to know there are so many people who care so deeply about these children. Given Mr. Potter's celebrity status and the large sums to be inherited by his children, it wouldn't surprise me to see many people interested in them for those reasons; however, it doesn't seem to be the case with any of the present.

"I've heard several witnesses point out the good and bad attributes of Mr. Malfoy and Mr. and Mrs. Weasley. I have also talked to the children, and though they can't be considered legally responsible to testify, the talk we had was very enlightening. It is true Mr. Malfoy and Mr. Potter's friendship wasn't very public; in fact, it seems clear to me that many of Mr. Potter's friends and family weren't even aware of the relationship. But both children told me they spent considerable amounts of time in Mr. Malfoy's company; in fact, they said they were guests at the Malfoy Manor several times a week, and that both men spent a lot of time engaged with the children.

"I have taken into consideration the fact that Mr. and Mrs. Weasley have been made godparents to the children, and are reportedly Mr. Potter's best friends since they entered Hogwarts. They are also good friends, as well as family, to the late Mrs. Potter, and all witnesses brought in by their attorney reported they expected, should anything happen to Mr. and Mrs. Potter, that Mr. and Mrs. Weasley take on the responsibility of raising their children.

"However, it was Mr. Potter's express wishes that Mr. Malfoy become their legal guardian, and in the absence of any document expressing Mrs. Potter's wishes, the only parameters I have to go by is the will presented. I believe both families have a lot to offer the children, but at the present moment, I grant Mr. Malfoy full custody of all three children, according to Mr. Potter's wishes, with immediate effect. The decision may be revisited in six months, after which it shall be final. Session adjourned."


	4. Chapter 4

CHAPTER FOUR

Draco showed up short before dinnertime with Astoria and Scorpius to pick the kids up, his lawyer and a friend from the Ministry brought along to make sure the Weasleys would cooperate. The greetings at the door were cold among the adults, but within a few seconds the three boys were sitting together in the living room playing excitedly. Lily was already being fed by her grandmother in the kitchen.

"Are their things in the bedroom?" Draco asked, nodding towards the staircase.

"Yes, I'll go get them for you." Hermione replied, turning around.

"There's no need, I'll do it myself." The blond walked past her, careful not to brush against the brunette.

"James's room is the second-"

"I know my way around. It's not the first time I come here." He interrupted her as he disappeared up the stairs.

"He's just a little anxious about the whole deal." Astoria said apologetically, awkwardly standing in the hall.

"I can see that." The brunette mumbled, nodding towards the other two men. "We know you're in charge of the children now, you didn't need to bring the cavalry along."

The other woman smiled, slightly embarrassed. She'd said so herself to Draco, but the man was unwilling to listen. She knew there was some friction between the two families, but it genuinely surprised her to know her husband thought so much coercion might be necessary. Especially when she thought about the relationship between him and Harry, how close they were. It must've put the brunet in a very complicated position.

The heavy silence in the hall was only broken by the distant sound of children, three boys to one side and a little girl to the other. Astoria shifted her weight uncomfortably from one foot to the other.

"Is there... Is there anything they're allergic to, or hate or anything else we should know?"

"What, Malfoy doesn't know that?" Hermione snorted. "One would've thought that, with him being specially appointed to keep the kids, he would know all about them..."

"Maybe he does. We haven't talked about that yet. But as I'll be responsible for them as well, I thought it was better to ask than to find out by trial and error." She replied as politely as she could, trying not to let herself be affected by the other woman's tone.

Hermione looked intensely at her for full ten seconds before talking. "They're not allergic to anything as far as I know. But Jamie tends to eat too much candy and get hyperactive if you don't watch him. Lily likes to climb things, so watch out for that. And Albus is naturally quiet, so you don't have to worry about it if you don't hear his voice for hours at a time."

Astoria nodded appreciatively. "I... I'm sure you'd be great for them as well, I'm just sorry the situation got so tense and had to be resolved in a court room."

Hermione nodded, but didn't reply. A moment later, they heard Draco coming back.

"I've got everything, we can get going." The blond said as he walked down the steps, patting his left pocket. "Would you mind terribly if we used the fireplace? I didn't want to... upset any of you by arriving unannounced, but Scorp really hates to apparate, and I'm certain the other children wouldn't appreciate it either."

"The fireplaces are... connected?" Hermione asked, raising an eyebrow.

"He was my friend, Granger. Now, may we or may we not use it?"

"Yes, of course..." She mumbled, pointing towards the study. "I'll go get Lily."

With a short nod, Draco called the children from the door before heading to the study. His two friends had already showed themselves out the door - as most adults, they strongly favored apparition over Floo - by the time Hermione showed up with Lily, who was babbling excitedly and had a few food stains in her clothes.

"Take good care of them, Malfoy. I swear, one little scratch on them and-" She started as she handed the baby to Astoria.

"Making threats now, are we, Granger?" He mocked. "Don't worry, they'll be perfectly safe with us."

"When can we see them?" The request sounded more like a demand, and Draco smirked in reply.

"I don't know. We need to give them time to adjust to their new lives, and I don't believe it'll be helpful for them to keep going back and forth. When I think they're ready, I'll let you know."

"Don't you dare disappear with those children, you hear me? And we'll be entering with an appeal. This whole situation is just temporary."

"Good luck finding a judge willing to go against the Golden Boy's wishes, Granger." He turned his back to her. "James, can you go with Astoria and Lily? Don't let go of her hand, okay?" He said gently to the boy nodding vehemently. "And I'll be right behind you with Scorpius and Albus."

A few seconds later, the six of them had disappeared.

* * *

The three boys were excited about the Floo trip by the time they arrived at the Malfoy Manor, but looking at Lily, the two adults wondered if perhaps they should've chosen a different way to travel. Draco handed over to his wife the shrunk bags that belonged to the girl before she disappeared down a hallway, and then guided the other kids through the maze that were the manor corridors to James's and Albus's new rooms.

"So this is where you'll stay from now on, Jamie." He opened the door, and the boy smiled from ear to ear as he took in the majestic bedroom he'd been assigned. As all bedrooms in the manor, there was a sitting area to one side, a desk surrounded by bookcases to the other and a four-poled bed on the far side, decorated in the Malfoy family colors, green and silver. "We can, uh, redecorate if you want. I wasn't sure what you liked so I thought you'd prefer-" He stopped talking as the boy started jumping on the bed, clearly not hearing a word of what he was saying. Shaking his head, he walked back to the corridor. "I've put you on the room next door, Al, so you can be close to James." He nodded towards another door.

"And my room is right in front of yours, Al!" Scorpius exclaimed happily, taking his friend by the hand and rushing towards the door to the brunet's room, trying unsuccessfully to open it.

"That way you don't feel lonely, being around the two of them." Draco explained, opening the door to a room much like the other one, with the exception of the protective rails around the bed to make sure nobody would wake up on the floor.

As he'd done in the other room, as the boys ran around - James showed up a minute later to join them -, he took out their belongings and returned them to their original size, leaving them by the door. While they ate, the elves could unpack and put everything in its right place.

"Boys, boys! I know you're excited, but now it's dinner time. Come on, I'll walk you to the dining room."

Surprisingly, none of them objected, and bounced around the hallways on their way. It was a bit more challenging to make them eat their greens than it had been when it was only Scorpius - they seemed to spur each other, and a shiver ran down Draco's spine when he considered the effects of that over the potential trouble they could cause -, but eventually all three were rewarded with a big slice of chocolate fudge cake.

Deciding that divide and conquer was as good a strategy as any, Astoria, who'd met them at the table after she put Lily down, took the younger ones and left James with the blond man, all three children headed for a warm bath and then their own beds. I'd been a while since Draco had been delegated that task, but all in all, he felt he'd done a good job.

"Can we go see daddy, uncle Draco?" James asked quietly as the two sat on the boy's new bed.

"Of course we can!" The blond exclaimed, surprise at the question, and the boy cowered a little.

"Aunt Hermione and grandma said he was too sick to see us." The boy explained.

"He really is very sick, Jamie." He explained patiently, pulling the boy onto his lap. "He can have visitors, but only for a few minutes at a time. Which means you wouldn't be able to be with him for long, and it could be very hard to say goodbye again."

"What happened to him?"

"Didn't they tell you?" He frowned.

"They said there was an accident." James shrugged.

"It was... a little more complicated than that, Jamie." Draco sighed, wondering how much a five-year-old could understand - and just how much he should know. "Have you ever heard stories with bad guys in it?" The brunet nodded. "Well, some bad guys tried to hurt your mom and dad, and they were trying to protect the other people around them. Help came and they defeated the bad guys, but your parents were hurt. Your mom..." His voice trailed off, and he looked away from the brown globes staring at him intently.

"She's in heaven now." James completed.

Draco smiled and nodded. "Yes, she is. She's watching over you from up there now. And your dad... He was badly hurt too. He's still alive, but he's sleeping."

"Can't we just wake him up?"

"I wish we could. But he needs to rest to get better. And Jamie... I know it's hard, but sometimes, when people suffer accidents like this, they just can't wake up."

"Then they go to heaven?"

"In a way. It looks just like they're sleeping, but there's nobody inside anymore."

"Is that what will happen to my daddy?" He asked seriously, and Draco felt his heart ache.

"The healers are doing everything they can to help your dad, Jamie. But nobody knows if he'll wake up again or not."

The boy nodded solemnly, and remained quiet for a minute. "Do you think he's already gone to heaven to be with mummy?"

"I hope not, Jamie. They said your dad could still wake up, and that's what I'm hoping will happen." The brunet nodded. "I'll take you to see him tomorrow, okay? We'll go just you and me. I think it might be too hard for Al to come with us."

"Okay, uncle Draco." He smiled.

"Very well, then! Time for you to go to bed." He announced, and James scrambled out of his lap and under the covers.

"Will you read me a story?" He asked smiling.

"A story?" Draco frowned playfully. "Yeah, okay. Just one, though, and then you go to sleep."

James's smile grew as the blond man stood up to select a book from the shelf across the room.

The next day, the two of them left the manor short after breakfast, once the other two boys were distracted playing in Scorpius's room. They took the Floo to St. Mungo's, and despite the obviously reproving looks they got from some of the staff and the rest of the people in the hospital, they were treated politely and within minutes they were standing with a healer outside Harry's room.

"How is he?" Draco asked quietly, peering through the small window on the door.

"He's stable. We've treated most of his physical injuries, but there was some swelling on his brain when he arrived, and it's been resisting all potions we've ministered so far. We believe that's what's behind his comatose state, and hopefully the swelling will go down in the next few days to weeks, by which point he is expected to wake up."

The blond nodded. "How is he looking, physically? I don't want Jamie to be scared with what he sees."

The healer nodded in reply. "All his bruising has already healed, as well as his bones. He's not connected to any equipments, and the monitoring spell records his condition on a parchment over his head, but there's no reason for that to scare the boy."

"Thank you, doctor."

"It's good for him to receive visitors, but I'd like to ask you to keep it short. He needs to rest, and with a kid in the room..." His voice trailed off, but the end of the sentence was clear.

"Don't worry about it. We'll make it quick because your dad has to rest, right, Jamie?" The boy nodded. As the healer walked away, Draco kneeled in front of the brunet. "You remember what we talked about, Jamie? You can't run in the room, or yell, and you have to be very, very gentle with your dad, okay?"

"I know, uncle Draco."

"Okay. Let's go in, then."

Draco opened the door slowly, and the two made their way to the bed in silence. Just as the healer had said, Harry looked like he was sleeping peacefully, and at any moment would wake up to hug his son and claim all his children back. The blond levitated two chairs to the side of the bed, and James promptly climbed on one of them, leaning over the bed.

"He doesn't look sick."

"I know."

"He looks like he's just sleeping. Can't we just shake him and make him wake up?"

"I'm sorry, Jamie. But he needs to sleep to heal, and he can only wake up when he's ready to. We can't make him."

"Not even if I scream really loud in his ear?"

A weak smile spread through Draco's lips. "Not even then, champ."

James nodded and stayed silent for long moments. He then grabbed Harry's hand in his, and looked up to his face. "Hi daddy. It's me, James. Uncle Draco brought me to see you, and he's taking care of me and Albus and Lily. We're living with him at his house now. I really like it there, but you have to wake up soon, because I want to go home, daddy. Okay? So wake up and come pick us up, and I promise I'll be a good boy, and I'll make Albus and Lily be good kids too. I promise. I miss you daddy."

Draco rested a hand on the brunet's shoulder, and when the boy turned to look at him, he had tears in his eyes. "I know it's hard, Jamie. But we have to believe he'll be better soon, okay?" James sniffed and nodded. "Okay. We should get going, then. He needs to rest, remember?"

"Already?" He pouted his lip.

The blond nodded. "We can come back some other day."

"Okay." He mumbled, and leaned forward to kiss Harry's cheek. "Bye, daddy. I love you."

James then turned to Draco, who picked him up and felt him rest his head on his shoulder. Holding the boy with one arm, he returned the chairs back to their original place before putting the wand away and letting his hand rest for a moment over Harry's before walking away.


	5. Chapter 5

CHAPTER FIVE

TEN YEARS LATER

James messed his eternally rebellious hair in frustration, letting out a low groan. He was sitting in the library by the window, studying for his midterms with his friends, but he felt more confused every time he read the chapter on the Wizard Wars of 1628. His reaction gained him a sympathetic look from the girl beside him, and he forced a little smiled to his lips, looking back down at his textbook. He had to learn that, he was determined to. If only his brain would cooperate.

It was his O.W.L.s year, and the normally worry-free teenager found himself spending his every spare moment bent over one book or the other. All the molecules in his body protested his choices, screaming at him to do something physical, anything but stay put for hours until no more information could penetrate his brain. It was a constant struggle, and he had a long way to go as far as his concentration skills went, but he felt he was getting better. Marginally.

It had been the same way for the past five years, since he entered Hogwarts. He'd cruise through the semester, usually barely turning in his homework in time, but a month before his exams, he'd try to cram as much information as he could into his brain. He knew he'd make things a lot easier on himself if he simply allowed more time for the same amount of information to be absorbed - i.e. if he studied some all semester, rather than trying to make up for it in a month or less -, and though he promised himself every time that he would definitely start doing things differently, nothing ever changed.

He sighed, noticing that yet again his mind had drifted away from his studies, and looked up as he stretched his arms. Perhaps a change of subject would be good; he still had quite a few chapters of Transfiguration to work on, and he'd always done better on that subject than in History of Magic. In fact, he was still to find someone who actually did _well_ in Binn's classes, as mostly even the best students struggled with his monotonous speeches and confusing facts.

"Come on, another half hour and we can go down to dinner." The boy on his left encouraged him, and this time his smile was more genuine. Merlin knew he could use some warm food to restore his energy right about now.

"I know, Chase. But half an hour sounds like an awfully long time." He made a face and the other students on the table laughed, gaining them all a reproachful look from Madam Pince.

"I did tell you to start studying sooner, especially because of our O.W.L.s, didn't I?" The girl who'd encouraged him earlier joked, gaining herself a playful frown.

"Maybe if you'd followed your own advice, you could've gone to Hogsmeade last week instead of having to stay here with the rest of us, Addie."

The girl stuck her tongue out. "It's not my fault the captain made us practice so hard for that last game."

"We were both there, so what makes you think I had any more free time than you?"

"Kids, kids, don't argue." The only person who'd remained quiet so far finally spoke. "We all knew we should've started earlier, and that this sucks, but you're not helping my concentration."

"Like you ever need to study!"

"For your information, James, I do too. Granted, not as much as the rest of you, because I was privileged with superior intellect..." She joked, and the other three made faces at her. "... But if I want to keep my near-perfect record, I need to put some effort into it."

"Well, your life would be much more interesting if you lowered your standards to that of us mere mortals." Chase joked. "Think about it. You'd actually have time to hang out with us, and see those guys play, and come to Hogsmeade and play pranks-"

"I'd rather get a top job in the future, thank you very much."

"Well, at least one of us doesn't have to worry about it." Addison joked. "He's inheriting all of Malfoy's assets, plus his share of the Potter's and the Black's fortunes. He doesn't have to work a single day in his life if he doesn't want to, and he'd still have more than enough money for the next several generations."

"Shut up." James replied, annoyed.

"Come on, Jamie! We all know that's what's gonna happen."

"Not if I don't work for it." He mumbled quietly. "I already told you, Scorp has more right to inherit it than I do."

"Just because he's got the same blood, it doesn't mean he has any more right, James." Chase encouraged. "You're the oldest. Aren't those things usually inherited by the oldest kid?"

James gave a little smile. "Yeah, maybe."

"Anyway, you can always be a Quidditch player if you want to. I mean, teams have already talked to you about going pro when you graduate."

"I know, Jules. But I don't want to do that. I want to be like my dad, make him proud. Prove to him I'm worthy of his legacy."

"I'm sure he's already proud of you, Jamie." Chase smiled at him, his green eyes gently fixed on brown.

"I hope so." He said quietly. "Well, screw this then." He said, smiling and grabbing the backpack he'd left beside his chair. "It's not like we're going to learn anything anymore. Anyone up of a game of Exploding Snap while we wait for dinner?" He smiled broadly.

A couple of minutes later, the four of them left the library laughing, under disapproving looks from Madam Pince. Even though dinner still hadn't been served, there were plenty of students in the Great Hall by the time they arrived there, and the four of them sat somewhere in the middle of their table, and engaged themselves in a quick Exploding Snap championship to pass time and help them release the tension from their studies. They were still planning another couple of hours with their textbooks before they called it a night.

Albus smiled as he entered the Great Hall half an hour later, his eyes meeting his brother's. They generally didn't talk much when they were at school, but always made sure to look after one another and Lily. And Scorpius as well, as they all considered each other siblings, despite their different origins. Scorpius who, at that moment, was walking right next to him, so close people might talk if they hadn't always been that close, physically as well, since they first arrived at the school.

The two of them took their seats next to some other of their fellow third-year students, and almost immediately engaged in a deep analysis of the last Quidditch match of the year. With both boys playing for their House team - Scorpius as Seeker and Albus as Chaser -, it was a frequent subject among them. And as most students - boys especially, though a considerable amount of girls as well -, they were obsessed with the sport and never seemed to grow tired of it.

It had been a constant distraction for all the children living in the Malfoy manor to play Quidditch on the property's field. When they were on holiday, they were only indoors to eat and sleep - and do their homework, when either Draco or Astoria forced them -, and spent the rest of the time flying back and forth, alternating positions and practicing plays they'd see in the many matches Draco would take them to.

All three boys expected Lily to make it to the team the following year.

An hour later, the blond and the brunet got up to leave the table when Albus realized he hadn't yet seen his little sister. With time for dinner running out, he quickly packed a little of everything in a lunchbox Scorpius conjured for him and the two left the Great Hall intent on finding the girl.

As they soon realized in the beginning of the school year, Hogwarts wouldn't be any different for Lily than any other school had been. Except for the time she spent playing with them, she would occupy every spare moment with her nose stuck in a book, so many that she'd already read all the school books years before she was assigned them. She'd also devoured through some magical literature, but hesitant that she'd advance too fast and not be mature enough to handle her skills, Draco and Astoria had limited her access to that part of the manor library.

After nearly half an hour wandering around the castle, they finally found the girl perched on a window sill in a remote hallway on the fourth floor. She consistently repeated she hated spending time in the library because of the excess of people in the room, and checked out several books at a time to read in hidden corners. She had conjured a small glowing globe which was floating over her head to illuminate the pages, and the two boys smiled at each other as they approached. She'd always been precocious with her magic.

"We told you, Lily, you can't skip meals." Scorpius said, reprovingly shaking his head from side to side, and Albus did his best to keep a serious expression. "You have to eat, no matter how interesting the books might be."

She smiled a little embarrassedly, marking the page she was on before closing the book and looking up to them. "What time is it?" She asked, shyly, jumping down from the window sill.

"Past dinner time." Albus finally smiled, offering the lunchbox. "It's probably cold by now, but I'm sure you've perfected your heating spell by now."

She smiled, gratefully taking the box and opening to explore its contents. "I don't like broccoli." She complained, making a face.

"What, you skip dinner, make us bring you food and complain about it?" The brunet said, faking upset.

"Oh, come on, Al, it's _broccoli_." Scorpius said overdramatically, pretending to sympathize for a moment before turning serious again. "You have to eat you greens, no discussion about that."

"What good is it being away from parents if I have two brothers to do their job for them?"

"Just two?" Albus raised an eyebrow.

"Jamie doesn't make me eat broccoli." She said with a satisfied smile.

"Don't worry, we'll get that fixed for you." Scorpius said, smiling back.

She stuck her tongue out. "Don't you have anything better to do than parenting me?"

"Don't you have anything better to do than hiding away and reading 24/7?" The brunet mimicked her tone, making the blond laugh.

"Make sure you eat everything that's in that box, Lil. No skipping your greens." Scorpius said, motioning his head towards the lunchbox.

"What, you put a spell on it to let you know if I don't?" She mocked, and he raised an eyebrow.

"What if I have?"

She hesitated for a moment. "You couldn't have. You don't know how to."

"Maybe I do."

She sustained her look for a moment before nodding. "Okay, I'll eat everything." She finally said, defeated.

"Good." His tone was severe, but the blond was smiling. "Come on, Al." He turned around and started walking away, closely followed by the brunet.

"Thanks for dinner." Lily said to their backs, not too loud, but they were perfectly able to hear her in the silence of the hall, and raised a hand in acknowledgement.

The little redhead sat on the window sill again and cast the heating spell on the food before conjuring a fork, which turned out to be a cross between that cutlery item and a spoon. She frowned, making a mental note to practice her skills some more later.

Outside, snow had started falling again - it was practically December already -, and despite the darkness covering the grounds, she could still see the nearest flakes in the dim light escaping the window. She smiled distractedly. Winter had always been her favorite season, and she never grew tired of admiring the work of art nature created in the tiny flakes every time it snowed.

It didn't take her too long to finish her meal, and she had a Chocolate Frog - which she found hidden and magically protected at the bottom of the lunchbox - for desert before putting her backpack over one shoulder and walking back to her Common Room. It was almost curfew, and she didn't need another detention for losing track of time. She'd had too many of those that year already.

As usual, the room seemed overcrowded with students chatting too loudly and playing games, so she went straight up to the dorm which, at that relatively early hour, was empty. Not five minutes later, another girl came in and they smiled at each other as she made her way to Lily's bed.

"You disappeared again." The girl said quietly, peeking at the cover of the book the redhead left on her nightstand.

"Sorry, Skye. I lost track of time." She smiled a little embarrassed. Skye was the only girl in her year she could consider a friend; though she was in good terms with everybody, her unintentional and constant isolation made it hard for her to connect. But somehow, the two of them had gotten close over the past few months, and whenever the redhead managed to stay away from her books, they 'd have extensive conversations about a multitude of subjects. It turned out Skye was also a voracious reader, although not quite as much as Lily.

"Must be a good book." The brunet girl smiled back.

"It is. I'm almost done with it, if you want to give it a try."

"Sure." She nodded.

The two remained silent for a few minutes. There was something comforting for them both to just be in each other's presence; for Lily, who'd grown up surrounded by loud boys, there was a certain complicity in spending time with a girl without being forced into the stereotypes which seemed to define her other roommates and made her want to give up on females; for Skye, who'd grown up alone, it was simply marvelous to spend time with someone her own age and, more than that, having someone who understood her so completely, and not having to explain herself all the time.

Their peace was soon broken by the arrival of their other three roommates, who were talking loudly about some second-year boy who looked their way, their high-pitched voices immediately threatening to give both girls headaches. They shared an understanding smile before the brunette moved back to her own bed and Lily engaged in looking for her pajamas in the mess of clean clothes she'd carelessly tossed into her suitcase. It'd been months since her clothes had been pressed, or even known what it meant to be folded.

Synchronizing her movements with a decent amount of precision, she was just leaving the bathroom when the other girls were going in, and she already had the curtains around her bed closed and a silencing spell cast by the time they returned. Lily wasn't aware anymore of their constant talking, and didn't even notice when, half an hour later, they turned out the lights and shortly after fell asleep. She only looked up from her book again when she read the final line, and as she braved out of her cocoon to leave the book over the backpack she'd left perked up against the foot of the bed, she noticed the first lights of day creeping through the window.

With a slightly guilty smile, she dropped her head on her pillow and immediately fell asleep, the characters from the book gaining new adventures in her dreams.

* * *

"No, no, we're not pursing that line of business."

"I understand your reservations, Mr. Malfoy, but I believe-"

"I vetoed that idea months ago, Padmore."

"I know, Mr. Malfoy, but your father-"

"You've just lost any last chance you might've had of convincing me. My father lost his right to this family's businesses when he chose his side on the war and forced me along it. I am done with this conversation. Have a good day." Draco waved his hand dismissively, looking away from the fireplace and down to the paperwork before him.

As soon as the war ended, all Malfoy assets had been frozen pending investigation, and though part of them were confiscated, most of the patrimony was allowed to return to its rightful heir, under the condition that Lucius be completely banned from the businesses, administration of any property and access to any funds. For Draco, it meant going straight out of Hogwarts to being head of the family in all aspects imaginable, and though he'd been prepared for it his whole life, he still struggled a lot in the beginning, especially until his advisors gained his trust and convinced him not only they knew what they were doing but were actually invested in the progress of the businesses, and not trying to sabotage him and coup him out of his position.

Over two decades later, most decisions came easily to him and his gut instinct proved itself again and again. Of course, with so much in his hands, he still dwelled on certain courses of action, but projects such as the one he'd been discussing just a few minutes earlier, spoke for themselves. And with supporters as Padmore and his father, put themselves up to almost undoubted failure.

A soft knock on the door caught his attention and, without looking up from the document he was scanning, he asked, "Just a moment, please!"

It was his habit to rule his small empire from home, where he could be around his wife and, when they were on holiday, his children as well. So it wasn't all too rare to have Astoria approach him about work-unrelated matters during the course of the day - especially when, as was the case, they had a big social event coming up. With room to spare and, due to the children's friendships, generally accepted by the wizard society, they had made a tradition of throwing rich Christmas and New Year's parties. At first, the Weasleys had refused to come, but as it was the only way they could see the children over the season holidays, they finally gave in and eventually reached a point of mutual tolerance with the Malfoys.

Most of the time, he found the interruptions very welcome. If left alone, he'd easily bury himself on work for days on end.

As he reached the bottom of the page and left a brief comment, a second knock came, and it immediately put him on high alert. His wife was a patient person, and wouldn't have done so if the matter wasn't serious. Tucking the parchments away on the first drawer, he dropped his quill in the ink pot and made for the door.

"Is everything alright?" He asked, the concern noticeable in his tone, as he opened the door.

"There's a man from St. Mungo's here for you." She informed nervously. "He says there's been changes in Harry's condition."


	6. Chapter 6

CHAPTER SIX

Draco was a little hesitant when he entered the room, but he felt his heart warm immediately when the brunet greeted him with a wide smile, his old glasses slightly crooked on his face. The blond closed the door behind himself and made a quick detour to manually pick up a chair before approaching the bed. Every second he could gain before talking to Harry was worth pursuing.

"Hey." Green eyes gleamed when they met silver.

"Hi." Draco replied quietly, and took the hand the other man extended to him, holding it fondly between both of his. Even after so long, there was a profound familiarity in the gesture.

"How you've been? They told me I was out for... a while."

Draco tried to smile. "Ten years is not a while, Potter."

"Ten years?" He asked, surprised. "They said it'd been a long time, but... Wow."

"Honestly, every damn healer in this country was sure you wouldn't wake up anymore, after so long." He couldn't help the tears starting to pool in his eyes, and angrily brushed them away. _I am a Malfoy_, he reminded himself. "I was really surprised when they told me you were up."

"Well, I should've guessed it'd been longer than they told me. You're looking old, Malfoy."

The blond frowned for a moment before chuckling. "It seems ten years weren't enough to improve your sense of humor after all."

"Yeah." He smiled, and for long minutes they just looked at each other fondly. "What... What happened?"

"You don't... remember?" Draco asked hesitantly, trying to let go of the hand he was still holding, but the brunet stopped him.

"Nothing. Last thing I remember... Ginny was bugging me about planning the Halloween party at our new place. It was still weeks away, but she insisted we sorted out every last detail beforehand." He smiled at the memory, then frowned his brows. "Talking about her, where is she? I figured she'd be the first they'd call when I woke up." He said, thoughtful. "Not that I'm not thrilled to have you here." He added quickly at the playful reproaching look he got.

"Well... It was pretty bad." Draco started, a lump forming in his throat. He swallowed hard, but it didn't seem to change much. "It was just before Halloween. I guess you got the details sorted out, because you and Weasley went shopping in Diagon Alley."

"Shopping?" He raised a surprised eyebrow.

"Yeah, I was surprised too. I know you hate it, and I don't know how many times I stressed that you shouldn't be in public any more than you absolutely have to." Green eyes smiled apologetically. "Well, anyway. Jamie and Al were sick, so they stayed at your place with mother-Weasley. You and Weasley were having ice-cream, which is insane, because it had already snowed that year, and that day was freezing cold and-" He stopped himself at the arched brow he received. "Sorry." He said quietly, taking a deep breath. "You were at Fortescue's, and then... There was some sort of attack. One minute everything was perfectly peaceful, the other half the street had been blown up and walls were falling left and right. A group of Death Eaters who got away were seeking revenge. They said you sent for your auror friends, but when they arrived, it was too late."

He nodded, trying to process the information. "What about Ginny?"

"She... Someone hit their target, Harry. She died instantly."

The shock in Harry's eyes was palpable, and the blond had to fight his breath increasing in frequency in reaction to the pain in his chest. Why did it have to be him to tell? Why couldn't Harry just remember it?

They spent long minutes in silence, Draco caressing gently the back of the brunet's hand, but Harry didn't seem aware of it. His eyes were fixed somewhere on the wall ahead of him, his brain fighting the information he'd been given. It couldn't be true, and yet... He knew Draco wouldn't lie to him. Not about that, not anymore.

"What about... What about the kids?" He asked weakly, finally meeting the silver orbs.

"They're fine." Draco forced a smile, trying to focus on the fact that this part was good news. "They're all at Hogwarts now, and according to someone's instructions, they've been living with me."

Harry smiled faintly in return. "So you really did take them in?"

"I promised you I would. I just wish you could've given me the heads up before."

"What, that I'd be attacked and spend 10 years in a coma?" He joked, even though his heart was bleeding with the words he didn't dare say: and Ginny would be dead.

"No, you idiot. That you were going to make it formal, have a will filed with the Ministry."

"Oh, that. It was a bit of a whim, really. But it was a nice touch, don't you think?"

Draco made a face at him, and Harry relaxed a little. "Sure, what better way to start a war between the Malfoys and the Weasleys than to take the kids away from their godparents and give them to me?"

"I thought it might be a bit challenging for them, that's why I kept it a secret. But it seems things worked out alright, right?"

"We ended up in court three times in the meantime, but sure, things worked out fine."

"You actually fought for my kids?" He asked, surprised.

"Of course I did. I keep my word, don't you know that already?"

Harry smiled, reaching his free hand to caress the blond's cheek, whose eyes fluttered shut in reaction to the gentle touch. "You're the one I trust the most, so it was pretty obvious to me that you'd be assigned that task." He said quietly as he pulled away.

Draco just smiled in reply.

The two held their gaze for another moment, but loud voices outside the room caught their attention and, as their hands slipped apart, a swarm of redheads joined them, talking loudly and excitedly. The two men exchanged a quick glance as Draco got up, and the green eyes were still on the blond's figure when the man shut the door behind himself.

"What was that loser doing here, Harry?" Ron asked, making a face and taking the now vacant seat beside his bed.

"Heard I was awake and came to see how I was doing." He answered honestly, the loud noises giving him the beginning of a headache.

"What does _he_ care?"

"He's my friend, Ron." He insisted.

"Yeah, so we've heard. What's up with nominating him as guardian instead of us, mate?" There was a slightly annoyed tone in his voice, but the redhead couldn't really be angry with the man still in a hospital bed.

"I had my reasons."

Ron was about to continue with his questions, but was interrupted by the other people in the room, all parroting versions of the same usual questions, how Harry was feeling, did he remember anything, what had the healers said. The brunet gave them an overview of the situation, but neglected to tell them he'd only just found out through Draco what had happened, instead letting them believe he remembered and throwing the topic off the table. After several minutes of conversation, he claimed a headache and all his guests promptly offered to leave.

The tears only came once he was alone.

* * *

Lily was again sitting by a window in a deserted corridor when the owl found her, carrying a letter from home. She was decided to finish the chapter she was reading before giving the animal any attention, so by the time she retrieved her letter, the left hand she was using to keep the animal at bay was rather bloody and sore.

"Okay, okay, I'll get the letter already..." She muttered, retrieving the envelope. As soon as she got her message, the bird took flight and disappeared through an open window.

The redhead girl opened her correspondence carelessly, having recognized Draco's handwriting on the address. The letter wasn't half a page long, but contained unexpected news about her father. She spent a few minutes staring at the carefully drawn lines of text before folding up the parchment and tucking it away in a pocket before retrieving her book and losing herself in it again.

Albus and Scorpius were on their way back from the library when the rustle of wings caught their attention - as well as that of every other student in the packed hallway - and the blond expertly retrieved the letter the owl dropped over their heads. Running his eyes through the familiar handwriting, he offered it to the brunet.

It only took Albus a few seconds to read through the short message, and then the boy looked up incredulously at the blond.

"What?"

"My father's awake." He replied quietly.

"Harry Potter?" He asked, even though they couldn't be talking about anyone else.

Albus nodded in reply.

"Oh, wow."

"I know."

"Now what?"

"Dunno." The brunet shrugged and picked up his pace. "What I do know is that we still have a lot to study for our midterms next week."

"Tell me about it."

At the same time, James was sitting by the fire in his Common Room, and would've missed the owl addressed to him altogether if his friend Addison hadn't happened to look up to the window when she did, as she battled her textbook. The loud noise of conversation and occasional bang of a game of Exploding Snap camouflaged the sound of the bird hitting the glass with its beak. Recognizing the animal, she retrieved the letter and handed it to James.

The boy read the message quickly and, evidently annoyed, crumpled letter and envelope into a ball and tossed them into the fire.

"What was that all about?" Chase asked, frowning.

"Nothing important." He mumbled. After a minute, he threw the textbook he was trying to read into his backpack and stood up. "I'm tired. I'm going to bed." He announced as he walked away without looking back.

* * *

Draco had meant to visit Harry the following day, and perhaps every other day until the brunet was discharged, but he was somewhat afraid of running into the redheads and saying something to upset Harry, so he allowed himself to be buried by work, only leaving his office to eat and sleep.

On the other hand, he was also worried because it'd been a few days already, and he still hadn't gotten any sort of reply from the children about the letters he shipped off when he returned from the hospital. He wasn't sure they'd take the news all too well.

So as the blond walked across the hospital, making his way to Harry's room, he was rehearsing all his excuses in his head, to make sure the brunet wouldn't see past them. As he turned a corner and made it for the door, he ran into a healer who asked him if he was visiting Harry. Though incredibly offended by the man's intrusion, he did his best to be polite as he replied affirmatively.

"I wouldn't go in if I were you. He's been categorically refusing to see anyone, and to eat and sleep. He just stays like that all day, and doesn't respond to anything anyone says. Between you and me, I think all that time in a coma made his head go cuckoo. " The man accompanied the suggestion with the characteristic gesture before walking away.

Wondering why nobody had told him about it - and then bitterly remembering nobody considered him to be anything to Harry -, he went into the room carefully, closing the door behind himself before turning to the bed.

Harry was lying on his side, his knees against his chest and his arms around them, his face hidden away. Draco called his name a couple of times as he walked closer, but there was no reaction. Suddenly very worried, he hurried his last steps and gently rest one hand on the man's shoulder while whispering his name.

"No!"

Draco jumped back, surprised at the reaction. But he was decided to get to the bottom of whatever it was.

"Talk to me, Potter." He demanded as authoritatively as he could, but got no reaction in return. "Talk to me, you stubborn idiot! What happened to you?"

Harry remained in silence and perfectly still if not for the constant rise and fall of his chest in response to his breathing.

Unsure how to proceed, the blond decided to go with a more direct approach and, knowing the brunet would reject it, he just the same put both his arms around him and pulled Harry against his chest as strongly as he could, struggling to maintain his grip against the fight the other was putting up.

"No! Let me go! Get out of here! I don't want anybody in here! Let - me - go!"

"No, Harry." He replied quietly in return, his breath caressing the brunet's ear. "I'm not going anywhere until I'm certain you're better. I won't let you push me away."

Though Harry didn't reply, his struggles only ceased a few minutes later, when they were substituted by a waterfall of tears which, for long minutes, the blond feared would never end. But eventually all tears dry, and when the brunet was finally done, he slowly let go of his own knees, and Draco immediately sat down on the newly created space in the bed, all the while careful not the let the brunet go. He pulled Harry's legs onto his lap, and the other man immediately hid his face on the curve of Draco's neck.

"Can you tell me what happened, Harry?" He asked gently, caressing the ever-rebellious brown locks.

Harry sniffed in reply, and the blond waited patiently until the other man was ready. "She's dead." His voice was barely more than a whisper.

"I know. I'm sorry."

"It's my fault. I should've protected her. I should've-"

"Shh, it wasn't your fault. It was nobody's fault."

"Of course it was. I vowed to protect her and-"

"You were ambushed, Potter. Seriously outnumber, and yet you managed to hold your ground until just before the aurors arrived. You two knocked out a whole lot of them, and now they're all rotting in Azkaban."

"Still, I ... I should've..."

"It wasn't your fault. There was nothing anyone could've done." He said firmly.

"I... I should've told her, Draco. About... Us. I... I let her die believing a lie, a huge lie. I... She had the right to know."

"I know, Harry. I know it's hard to know you'll never be able to come clean, but I'm certain she was a happier person to believe that lie."

"How could she? I... I betrayed her. I... Didn't love her like she deserved, she deserved so much better than me."

"You were the only one she wanted, and she died a happy person for believing she had you."

"You really think so?" He asked hesitantly, looking up to Draco. His moist green eyes shone in the artificial light of the room.

Draco nodded, and Harry rest his head against the blond again. "You know, Jamie used to believe Ginny was in Heaven. And I'm sure that, if there is a Heaven, she's there, and she's forgiven you, Harry. And she would want you to do the same."

The blond felt the smile that spread through Harry's lips. "I really think she'd be in Heaven." He whispered quietly. "Though I'm sure she was a handful to whoever decides who goes to Heaven and who goes to Hell." He giggled softly, and Draco smiled.

"I'm sure of it." He agreed, and the two remained in silence for a few minutes, the blond's hand mindlessly drawing circles on Harry's back.

After a while, their breaths fell into synchrony, and just as Draco started wondering if the other man had fallen asleep, he felt soft kisses bathing the side of his neck, lazily crawling up to his ear. He could barely suppress the moan that formed in his throat; after so long without that caress, he seemed hyper-sensitive to it. But however much he wanted it, he forced himself not to give in, gently pushing Harry away with one hand.

"What?" The brunet asked, slightly disappointed. "Don't you like that any-"

He shook his head, and the other man stopped talking. "That's not it, Potter. I love that, and I can barely wait to be with you, but not... not like this, not right now."

Harry nodded weakly, and leaned his head on the blond's shoulder again. As easy as it would be to just get lost in sex, he understood that moment was about emotion, not sex. And Draco was probably right, it would only spoil things. But that knowledge didn't quite make up for his frustration for being interrupted.

"Tell me about the kids?" He asked softly after a couple of minutes.

"They're all grown up." Draco replied with a smile. "You'd be proud of them, they're all good kids. Probably a whole lot different than you imagined they'd be, but..." He let his voice trail off.

"But what?" Harry insisted, curious.

"But they're good kids."

"I'm sure you did a great job of raising them."

"Damn right I did." He said in a falsely arrogant tone, making Harry giggle.

"How are they doing at school? "

"They're doing well. It's Jamie's O.W.L.s year this year. And the other two are very intelligent. They adjusted well."

"Are they all together in Gryffindor?" Draco chuckled softly, and Harry moved away enough to look at him with a raised brow. "What?"

"Well, actually only James is in Gryffindor. And I'm sorry to tell you, he was quite pissed at it. He wanted to be in Slytherin."

"James?" He asked surprised. "I'll bet that went down so well with the Weasleys." He smiled, resting against Draco again.

"Honestly, he doesn't get along with them very well. I think he somehow blames them for everything that happened, and hasn't yet been willing to give them a chance. When he was little, right after everything happened, he used to be very rude to Granger and mother-Weasley, especially. I kept telling him not to be, and one day, he started simply ignoring them. I suppose it was better, but still... He hated having to spend time with them."

"Really? That's so... awful."

"I don't really care for that bunch, but they're his family, and I sort of understand what you mean."

Harry nodded. "What about the others?"

"Albus and Scorpius are in Slytherin. The two of them seem joined to the hip or something, you never see one without the other. And Lily's in Ravenclaw."

"So they're all separated?"

"Don't worry about it, they all get along great, and are always looking out for each other. Though I think Lily won't like it too much when she starts dating, with three older brothers and all." They both laughed for a moment.

"I wasn't missed then, I guess."

"Of course you were, Potter. We all missed you a whole lot, and you'll see it when you get out of here and come spend the holidays with us."

"Oh, I couldn't. I mean, the Weasleys-"

"Are coming too, so stop making excuses. The kids will be home soon, and you'll have a chance to catch up with them. It'll be great."

"So you're all getting along now?"

"Don't push it. We manage to be civil, but there's no need for any more than that, is there?"

Harry laughed. "It seems I missed a whole lot while I was asleep."

"I'll tell you." Draco snorted.

"Please, do. Tell me about everything I missed."

The blond smiled, and Harry was finally at peace hearing the man's voice recollecting the past decade, the sound of his heartbeat providing the soundtrack and his strong arms sheltering him from the rest of the world.


	7. Chapter 7

CHAPTER SEVEN

A few days later, after exhaustive testing, the healers at St. Mungo's reluctantly discharged Harry. He'd been one of the most persistent comatose patients they'd ever seen recover, and unsure of the reason why that had happened, feared something might trigger the reversal of the process. But feeling much cheerier after the time he spent with Draco - strange as it'd been in hindsight, as he'd never seen the blond be so gentle and caring -, the brunet could no longer stand spending all day in bed in the same room with only the occasional visitor to distract him, and would've walked out of the hospital against medical advice hadn't they let him go.

Initially, he'd considered returning to Grimmauld Place, but he knew it'd probably still be too painful to wander around on his own in a house full of ghosts. Besides, as the healers stressed several times during the lecture they gave him before he left, they'd prefer it if he could be in the company of other people for most of the time in the first few days, until he adjusted to his life again. _Supervised, you mean_, he thought as they repeated the words again, but only nodded politely.

Deciding to take up on Draco's invitation, he chose to head to the Malfoy Manor instead, and the blond had arranged to have his belongings collected before his arrival. As unfortunately the other man had a meeting which couldn't be postponed, it was Astoria who showed up to take him home. As he first saw her, he feared things might be extremely uncomfortable between them. She, unlike Ginny, had known about Harry's involvement with Draco for a long time, and though she'd never said a word about it before, maybe having him come back from the dead after ten years could change things up.

"Hi, Harry." She smiled as he approached, waving minutely. "How are you?"

"I'm better, thanks." He smiled, embarrassed. "And, er, how are you?"

"I'm very well, thank you for asking." The brunet looked around, uncomfortable, but when he met the blue eyes that never left him, he saw nothing but kindness. "Shall we get going? I hear you're still under orders to rest."

"Yeah, er, that's what the healers told me, but honestly, I feel fine." He explained as they made their way to the fireplaces.

"You look very fine, even for someone who didn't spend ten years in a coma. A little skinny, I think, but we'll fix that in no time."

"What, you'll force-feed me?" He joked, and she smiled back.

"I heard you spent a few days refusing to eat, so if I have no other choice..." She let her voice trail off and some color reached the man's cheeks. "I did, after all, make all four kids eat their vegetables on every single meal."

"Wow, now that's certainly an accomplishment."

The conversation ceased as they waited their turn through the Floo network, and a couple of minutes later, they were at the Malfoy Manor.

"We set up your usual room for you. That way you won't get lost." She joked, and he giggled softly, remembering the many times he'd actually gotten lost in the mazes formed by the corridors. "You can redecorate if you want to, right now it's just our standard guest room. I heard they managed to save your wand, have they returned it to you yet?"

"Yes, Hermione brought it over last week. I'm glad it didn't get lost, I'm kind of attached to it." He explained, hoping she wouldn't notice the faint shade of pink that touched his cheeks.

"Is it your first wand?"

"Yes, actually it is."

"I know the feeling. Mine got lost during the war, and it took me a long time to accept another one." She nodded towards a door, indicating they'd arrived. "If there's anything you need, the elves have been instructed to obey you."

"Thank you." He smiled. "Do you have any idea when Draco's meeting will be over?"

"It should take another couple of hours, actually."

"Oh." He couldn't hide the disappointment in his voice.

"But I'm sure he's cleared his schedule for the rest of the day, Harry. And the kids will arrive in a few days, you'll soon miss the peace and quiet."

"Thank you." He said honestly.

"If you'll excuse me..." She said before turning around and disappearing around a corner.

With a small sigh, Harry pushed the door open and entered the majestic room assigned to him. His belongings were piled up against the foot of the bed, and on top of them, was a small note in Draco's careful handwriting.

_H-_

_I ordered the elves not to touch your things because I'm not sure how you like them, but they'll be more than glad to put everything away if you just tell them where you like your things._

_I hope to see you before lunch, but either way I have the whole afternoon reserved for you. Word is, we have a lot to catch up on._

_D-_

Harry smiled as he carefully folded the note and put it away on the first drawer of the desk. For a brief moment, he considered getting the elves to help put his belongings away, but there were only three suitcases and he could use the distraction and physical activity. He still felt weakened from the long time spent unconscious - the healers did tell him his muscles, despite all the treatments, had inevitably atrophied some -, and figured some exercise would be of help.

By the time he put the last book on his nightstand, he was panting hard, and his cheeks were reddened, but he felt unquestionably better. Sitting on the edge of the bed, he looked around, feeling a little more at home, despite the green-and-silver decoration. He picked up his wand and tried to change the color scheme, but soon realized his magical skills were as weakened as his physical ones, and ended up with an eclectic mixture of red, gold, green, silver and the occasional brown where he couldn't complete the change from green to red.

A quick glance at the watch he retrieved from one of the bags told him it was nearly lunchtime already, and with a defeated sigh, he conceived he wouldn't see the blond until they were all sitting at the table. Resigned, he picked a clean set of clothes and headed towards a well-deserved shower - all this time in the hospital, all he'd gotten was cleaning spells, and he desperately needed to put his hygiene up to date.

He had his head thrown back as he washed the shampoo away from his hair when a pair of hands slipped around his torso from behind, making him scream like a little girl and throwing his shower partner into a fit of laughter. With his heart pounding, Harry turned around to see a perfectly naked Draco leaning forward with his hands on his knees, trying to catch his breath. And he couldn't help noticing how the water from the shower head fell into his nape and upper back and slid down towards-

He shook his head, trying to focus.

"What do you think you're doing? I just woke up from a coma, do you want to give me a heart attack and put me back in one?" He complained, feigning more anger than he actually felt.

Still panting a little, Draco straightened up and didn't miss the way Harry's eyes ran down his body before the brunet caught himself and looked into the silver orbs. "Are you planning to use your coma as an excuse for everything now, Potter?"

"Absolutely." He smiled teasingly. "Draco, can you get me a snack? I just woke up from a coma and am feeling weak. Draco, do you know that book I've been wanting to read? Draco-"

The blond shut him up with a kiss, holding his face between his hands and pushing him towards the wall behind the brunet. He meant to take things slow with Harry, after all, the man was still weak from his ordeal, but when he emerged for air nearly sixty seconds later, he knew he'd have a much harder time than he'd anticipated.

They were both panting and their eyes met for a brief second, their lips curling up in smiles before they went in for round two. Avid hands started exploring and pulling each other closer, because no proximity ever seemed enough. When, several minutes and a very evident indicator of their arousal later, Draco seemed to regain control over his own body, he took two steps back, hoping the distance would help unfog his mind.

"I just meant to see if you were okay. They said you might still be a little weak-"

"So you figured you get undressed and assault me from behind?" He teased, steadying himself against the wall.

"Well, you were looking too hot for me not to." He smiled naughtily, stepping further back and under the water. "But clearly you have everything under control. Lunch will be served in a few minutes. Can you find your way around?"

"I can try. I'll light a flare if I get lost." He joked.

"Don't you dare torch my home, Potter, or all your money won't be able to reconstruct it."

"Why, is that a threat?" His voice was low and he slowly moved forward.

"Stop teasing me, Potter, because you know I'm no good resisting you." He demanded, stepping forward and catching Harry's lips for a quick kiss before moving decisively out of the stall.

Harry stood there watching the other man through the glass panels as he dried himself, a not-so-innocent smile spreading across his face. The blond sent him a naughty glance as he left the room only wrapped in the towel, and the brunet had to change the water temperature to cold if he planned to make in time for the meal.

Though he understood everybody's lives moved on while he was unconscious, it didn't make him any less frustrated with the lack of activity currently present in his own. He couldn't demand any attention from his hosts - Draco had always been busy with work, and from what he heard from the business growth, it was almost miraculous he managed to take a whole afternoon off, and Astoria was busy planning the Christmas and New Year's parties, and though he didn't care much for festivities, he'd even offered to help and had been politely declined. But standing around all day doing nothing was driving him crazy.

On the third day after he returned from the hospital, he decided to pay Molly a visit. They'd talked while he was still at St. Mungo's, but as the Weasleys always came in groups, they didn't have as much time as he wished to catch up. Besides, she was the only adult Harry knew of who wouldn't be busy at work.

He took the Floo network directly to the Burrow - he figured there would be a connection between the fireplaces now the two families were linked through his children -, and found the old matriarch in the kitchen, working on the treats she liked to have at hand for when the children returned from school. He volunteered to help, and though he felt he was standing in the way more than actually helping, it felt good to keep his hands busy.

After the almost inevitable lecture on why for Merlin's sake he would put a Malfoy in charge of his children and not his own family - and all he could do was smile embarrassedly and apologize for not letting them know he would beforehand -, they moved on to more neutral topics. There were, after all, plenty of changes in a decade to allow them several hours of conversation.

In the end, the brunet had dinner with Molly and Arthur, and he was glad to have different sorts of discussions with the man while he was shown all of the redhead man's new projects with muggle objects. It seemed that, even after all this time, the shed in the back of the house was still motive for constant bickering between the couple.

The children would arrive from Hogwarts the following day, and Harry spent most of the night wondering whether or not he should go pick them up at King's Cross. He could barely wait to see them, but Draco had said they were very different, and perhaps weren't quite as eager to see him. Besides, the journey back would consist of a very quick side-apparition, and maybe it would be best if he avoided ambushing the kids at the station.

"Are you sure you don't want to come? I know your skills are rusty, but we can side-apparate you as well, Potter." The blond man teased.

"I really think it's best for me to stay. And, besides, I'm sure I could still apparate successfully anywhere I wanted."

"Oh, is it? Because I'm pretty sure I heard a friend from the Ministry say you'd have to take a new Apparition Exam before being allowed to go anywhere."

"Oh, shut up, Malfoy." He play-punched the laughing man on the shoulder. "Go on, then. I don't want my kids to have to wait for you, or I'll start second-guessing my decision to put you in charge." He teased back.

"Yeah, right, Potter." He replied sarcastically, feigning arrogance. Harry arched an eyebrow, and he smiled before stepping closer and kissing him gently on the lips. "I'll see you in a bit, then."

"Yeah, later. You too, Astoria." He added with a smile, acknowledging the woman who was standing by the door. It was still beyond him why she wasn't attacking them both for the little display of affection, and why she was still with Draco.

"Bye, Harry." She returned the smile.

The brunet watched them disappear before throwing himself on the nearest couch with a sigh. Now the time had finally come for him to see - meet, actually - his children again, he was suddenly nervous, anxious. Draco said they'd changed, and he couldn't help imagining how. What if they didn't even remember him? They were very little after all, and it would be very hard to bond with a man in a coma. What if they didn't even like him? What if...

Harry shook his head strongly, pushing away such thoughts. Everything would be fine, he assured himself. They're different because they've grown up, and it would take a while to gain their trust, but he was their father, and things were bound to work out. He'd just have to be patient. Which, his brain kindly reminded him, was never one of his strongest suits.

Half an hour later, he was pacing back and forth, wondering what could be taking them so long and if something could've happened. Maybe there was an accident with the train? Maybe someone got lost in the crowd, and had disappeared and -

The sound of cheery voices made him stop in his tracks and focus his eyes on the door. The only voices he could recognize were the adults, and his breath caught in his throat for a moment at that realization. It was only now coming to him just how much of his children's lives he'd missed, and he had to fight the tears that threatened to pool in his eyes. A moment later, six people walked into the room and a very tense silence befell them.

Harry's jaw dropped as he tried to take in the sight before him. They were so all so big, and so very, very different. Not just taller, not just grown up, but... For a moment, he didn't recognize them as his own. As a matter of fact, not even several moments later he recognized the oldest teenager as his son. James was by far the one who'd changed the most.

Lily was leading the way, and was the one the brunet had the clearest view of. She looked just like her mother had when she entered Hogwarts, though somehow not quite as fragile or shy, even though she'd yet to say anything to him. She was maybe a little taller as well, and her very red hair was cut just above her shoulders. But in every other respect, she was the little girl he saved from the Chamber of Secrets all those years ago.

Albus was a little to her side, so close to Scorpius he wondered if either boy knew the concept of personal space. Or if perhaps they were past that. He was perhaps a couple of inches taller than his sister, and Harry could tell he'd end up about his own height, with the same body structure. The ever-rebellious hair was longer than he had worn when he was the boy's age, and he immediately wondered how the bangs partially covering his eyes didn't bother him.

But James... Harry was having a hard time wrapping his mind around what he was seeing in front of him. The boy had obviously inherited the Weasley genes for height, as he was already Draco's size and still growing. He looked strong, too, and the brunet remembered the three boys were in their respective houses' Quidditch team. But the single, most striking difference was James's hair. He remembered sharing that feature with both his sons, but currently the teenager's hair was dyed a platinum blond worthy of any Malfoy. And when their eyes met, he missed the warmth in the brown orbs the boy once shared with his mother.

"Say hi to Harry." Draco instructed.

Harry shook his head slightly, a little confused, realizing they'd only been standing there for a few seconds, and not the hours he felt had passed.

"Hi." They all chorused, less than excitedly.

"I'm going to my room, I've got homework to do." James mumbled as he left.

Harry frowned slightly. Even when the boy was in kindergarten, they had trouble convincing him to do his homework. As the thought crossed his mind, he absent-mindedly observed the other two boys whispering in each other's ears secretively.

"That's rude, boys. Stop it at once." He heard Draco's reprehending tone, and his eyes jumped to the blond man.

"Sorry, dad." The two boys replied in unison, and the brunet couldn't help thinking back to the Weasley twins back in their school days. And then the words were processed, and he had to swallow hard to get rid of the lump that formed in his throat.

"We also have homework." Scopius said, looking up to his father.

"Can we go too?" Albus asked, following the boy's gaze.

"Uh..." Draco hesitated, searching the green eyes in front of him. Somewhat shocked, Harry nodded vaguely. "Sure, boys."

"And me, dad?" Lily inquired.

"You too, Lil." He smiled at the girl, touching the top of her head as she left the room.

"I better go check on the dinner arrangements." Astoria excused herself.

"They're different, huh?" Draco asked a few moments later, running a hand through his hair as he walked towards where Harry was still standing.

"They're... Nothing like the kids I remember."

"Well, the, uh, accident was tough on all of them."

"I guess." He mumbled, letting himself fall on the couch, eyes lost somewhere in the room. "I... honestly don't know what to think."

"Give them some time to get used to the idea. They'll come around, you'll see." The blond offered, resting a hand on the other man's shoulder.

Harry smiled weakly at him, resting his own hand over Draco's. "Seems like we'll have to lay low for a while." He joked, trying to change the subject.

"What do you think I made the rooms sound-proof for?"


	8. Chapter 8

CHAPTER EIGHT

The holidays were proving to be less productive than Harry had hoped, or even expected. So far, he'd only seen James when they all sat down for a meal, and he was still struggling to recognize the blond as his own son. He occasionally saw Albus around, but the teenager was always busy planning something with Scorpius, and most of the time the two boys didn't even look his way when they crossed paths. Granted, they didn't really see anybody when they were whispering back and forth, but somehow the knowledge didn't make things any easier for Harry. And Lily was always either locked up in her room or contorted in a armchair over a book, which she seemed to go through faster than Hermione ever had, scaring him a bit.

All in all, the person he'd talked the most so far had been Draco.

"I think they hate me." The brunet mumbled one day, his head resting on the blond's chest, both of them still panting a little and slightly flushed from their previous activities.

"They don't hate you, Potter." Draco replied, trying to be as convincing as he could when his brain was barely cooperating enough to let him grasp the conversation the other man started. "They just need time to get used to the idea of having you around."

"I don't think so. I mean, I understand that I mean nothing to Lily, she was just a baby, but the other two... I raised them, at least a bit, you know."

The blond didn't reply, lifting a hand to play with the brown locks.

"You told me they liked Quidditch, so the other day I tried to talk to Al about it. I don't know how, but for five minutes he wasn't with Scorpius. I offered to take them to a game, I even offered to kidnap him from school for a weekend for it, and he said he'd rather not. I mean, what kind of parent would even suggest anything like that? Am I that desperate?"

"Potter, I don't know if anyone told you, but you can't expect them to have the same relationship with you they had before, and you can't force them to." He said seriously, ceasing the caress for a few moments and capturing green eyes with silver. "I know you feel like you missed out in so much you want to be in on everything, but they're - nearly all of them - teenagers now, and they need their own space. They need room to make their own mistakes, and if you try to impose on them... You'll just make things worse. I know it's hard, but when they're ready, they'll come to you."

"What if they don't? James clearly doesn't want anything to do with me. He doesn't even want to _look_ like me, and his eyes when he sees me are just..." He let his voice trail off, searching for an adequate word.

"He's experimenting. It's good for him. But whatever it is that he's putting between you two, you'll have the chance to sort it out, you'll see."

"I think they're trying to keep themselves busy enough not to have to deal with me." He whispered quietly, looking down and tracing random patterns with his index finger on the alabaster skin.

"Since they went to school, all the boys have been like that, and Lily was reserved even before Hogwarts. You shouldn't worry too much, because we both know it's not a good thing when you start overthinking things."

"What do you mean by that?" The brunet asked with a smile, pinning the other man under him.

Draco laughed. "I seem to recall most of you little plans came from Granger's brain, and the ones that didn't... tsk, tsk..." He teased.

"Oh, you have no idea what you're talking about..."

Hours later, as he watched the night sky through the window, Harry tried to convince himself that Draco was right, that he just needed to give the children time. But time was running out; in just a couple of weeks they'd be back at school, and he wouldn't get to see them until the summer. It seemed far too long for his aching heart to take.

A couple of days later, as he wandered around the manor looking for something to do, he found his middle child sitting on his own, a book open on his lap but his eyes lost in the garden outside. Knowing chances like those didn't come often, he approached the boy and sat in front of him, but Albus didn't even seem to notice him.

"Hi, Al." He said after a few moments, hating the discomfort he was feeling. It was his own son, he reminded himself, there was no reason to feel that way.

"Oh, hi." He gave a little smile as their eyes met, before looking out again.

"It's quite rare to find you without Scorpius, you know."

"Mom is having him measured for some new outfits. I'm next." He explained.

"You two seem pretty close." He commented, trying to ignore the fact the boy, as he had with Draco, called Astoria his mother.

"We are."

"I hear you're close to your other siblings as well."

"Yeah."

"That's good." It was clear to Harry the boy didn't want to talk, but the brunet wasn't willing to let the chance escape and, a few moments later, he tried again. "How's school?"

"Fine."

"You have a lot of friends there?"

"Sure."

"You don't like to talk much, do you?"

"Depends on whom I'm talking to."

"I know it must be weird to have me here after all this time." He encouraged.

Albus shrugged. "It's good that you woke up."

"Yeah, I guess. Do you remember much of... what happened?"

"Just that one day you were there, then you weren't. I don't remember much from before I came to live in the manor."

"Do you like it here?"

"Yeah, it's home."

Harry smiled sadly. "I see."

"Look, it's not like I don't care you're here, it's just that, you haven't been, and it's weird to have you around. I mean, I know you're supposed to be my father and all, and you seem nice enough, but I already have a dad, and I'm not really looking for another one."

"Oh." Harry didn't know how to reply, and instead remained quiet, allowing his eyes too to turn to the window.

A few minutes of tense silence later, Scorpius's head popped on the door. "Mom says it's your turn, Al." The boy smiled, and then turned to Harry. "But, hm, if you're in the middle of anything-"

"No, I'm coming." The brunet replied smiling to the other boy as he dropped the book on the coffee table and the two walked away, the low murmur of whispers following them.

Harry sighed. Perhaps the boy was right. They already had a family, they already had parents, and just because now he wanted to claim his offspring back, it didn't mean that he should. Even if he was their father, after ten years' absence, what right did he have to barge into their lives and demand a relationship? They were all grown up now, they were perfectly capable of deciding whether or not they wanted him in their lives. Perhaps he should move out and get a life of his own.

"Hey, Harry."

Astoria's voice distracted him from his musings, and he forced a smile into his lips as he turned to her.

"I thought you were taking measures for clothes or something."

"Well, I just need to be there to decide on the outfits, color schemes and fabrics, not the actual taking measures part." She smiled kindly, walking his way. "I heard you and Albus were talking." Harry nodded. "Do you mind?" She asked, pointing to where the boy had been a few minutes earlier.

"No, go ahead."

"I just thought I'd come to see if you were okay. Draco says they haven't been too friendly."

"I suppose they're just being teenagers, it's not their fault."

"They haven't been rude, though, have they? Because if they have, I'll ground them-"

"No, no, nothing of the sort." He interrupted, worriedly.

She smiled warmly, and he did his best to reply. "I'm sure they just need some time."

"That's what they keep telling me." He mumbled.

"Well, it's true. And so do you, to get used to the people they are now."

"I know, they're so different!"

She nodded understandingly. "You know, Al used to visit you every month before Hogwarts, and he always went to St. Mungo's when he returned from school."

"Really?" He asked, his eyebrows arching. Maybe things weren't so lost after all.

She nodded. "Unfortunately, the others didn't follow his lead quite so much..." The two giggled. "It was hard for them to see you in that bed. It's hard for kids to understand that sort of thing. James didn't want to sleep anymore after the first time he visited, because he was scared he wouldn't wake up again."

"It was quite the burden for them." He shrugged minutely.

"They each reacted differently. James decided he wanted to be exactly like Draco, because he became the paternal figure around. That's where the blond hair comes from." She smiled for a moment, her eyes losing focus as the memories flooded her mind. "You should've seen Draco's face when he came back for Christmas during his second year, having just figured out the spell to dye his hair. Draco nearly had a heart attack."

"He wasn't a big fan of it, then?"

"It's not that he wasn't flattered, but he never meant to substitute you in any way."

"I know that. I guess it's just how things played out."

Astoria nodded. "In Albus's case, he and Scorpius formed this incredibly solid bond, which I'm still not too sure how far goes. The first night he spent here, we put the two next door to each other, and we found them both in Scorpius's bed the next morning. It seems Albus was scared and instead of coming to us, he went to him. They've been pretty much inseparable ever since."

"Well, it seems to me you managed to separate them alright just now." He joked, smiling weakly.

"That's because none of them can really stand it when I start talking clothes, and that way they only have to hear me for half the time." She smiled back before turning serious again. "Unfortunately for Lily, she was too young and though we took her to plenty of visits..." Though she didn't finish the thought, he nodded understandingly. "We told her all about you and your heroic feats, but after a while, she just lost interest."

"Well, I never found myself that interesting anyway."

"They might not see it, but they have a lot of you in them. I'm sure they'll realize it soon enough, and it'll be easier to bond with them." They remained quiet for a few moments. "Every year we have this traditional Quidditch match on Christmas Day. The Weasleys love the sport as well, and there are so many of them we get to have a little championship. Normally they're a few players short and some of the parents who'd rather watch are forced to play, but I remember you were really good at it, back in school. I'm sure they'd be happy to have you in their team."

"Yeah, hopefully."

"Hey, ma, they said they were done with me and needed you to-" Albus stopped himself, finally realizing he was interrupting. Scorpius was again by his side. "I'm sorry, I didn't know. I can tell them that-"

"No, don't worry about it, honey. I'll be right there." She smiled at them. "Well, duty calls, Harry." She excused herself, standing up. He nodded. When she reached the door, she turned to him again. "Don't you want to have your measures taken as well? I'm sure you could do with some new outfits, I'd be glad to help you pick them out."

He chuckled. "Maybe some other time."

"Your loss." She smiled before disappearing.

At least now Harry had a plan.

* * *

Harry began regretting Astoria's offer about a new outfit as he met the others before dinner on Christmas Eve. They were all impeccably dressed in formal clothes when he saw them gathered at the living area, and quickly doubled back and dug out his own formal robes from the bottom of the wardrobe. As it'd been fitted for his fourteen-year-old self, it was short on the length and the sleeves, and he did the best he could to make it presentable before daring to join the others.

With all the talk about Quidditch and pranks played at the Christmas celebrations, a formal outfit was the last thing on his mind.

But it turned out dinner on Christmas Eve was as formal as a gathering could get, with only the Malfoys and the Weasleys present. Harry made polite conversation for most of the night, carefully observing especially all his nieces and nephews who were now so grown up. True to what he'd heard from Draco, the redheads and his own children didn't seem to mingle if it was at all possible to avoid it, and Astoria was the only one who went anywhere past the strictly polite with the Weasleys.

"Harry? Harry?" He heard Hermione call, and shook his head slightly, turning his eyes to her. Yet again he'd lost himself in thoughts watching the people around the table and missed whatever it was she was telling him.

"I'm sorry." He smiled embarrassedly. "What were you saying?"

"I asked what you plan to do from now on. I mean, I don't suppose you'll just be living here doing nothing all day, will you?"

"It's not like Draco doesn't keep me busy enough..." He mumbled under his breath, a slight smile spreading through his lips. At the confused look it got him, he let his lips curl higher at the brunette and amended his reply. "I've been trying to reconnect with my children, and I feel it's easier if I'm around and don't have anything else to stand in the way."

"And how's that going?" She asked, choosing to let the comment slip. A part of her brain insistently told her she didn't want to know what the brunet meant, and she instinctively decided to trust it.

"Not very well." He admitted, raising a hand to scratch the back of his head, a light shade of pink touching his face. "I can't blame them, of course, but I thought it'd be easier."

Harry regretted almost immediately having brought up the subject, because for the next forty minutes or so, the woman lectured him on all he should do - and how he should do it - to reestablish a relationship with the kids. By the time she finished, desert had already been served and he'd gone through it twice, hoping the sweetness would mild his growing irritation. He'd forgotten about that aspect of her personality.

The brunet couldn't have been more pleased when, not too many minutes after that, they all decided to call it a night, as the younger children were practically sleeping over their plates already, and after lengthy farewells, the manor became quiet again. As soon as they could, the four children slipped away to their own bedrooms, leaving the three adults standing in the living room with access to the Floo Network.

"So, what did you think?" Draco asked with a lazy smile, turning to Harry and stretching his arms over his head. Events with the redheads always made him excessively tense.

"It was certainly very different from what I expected." He admitted, looking from one adult to the other.

"I've heard holidays at the Weasleys were a lot more relaxed." Astoria smiled at him. "I'm sure you'll feel right at home tomorrow, though. It's sort of an agreement, Christmas Eve follows Malfoy's traditions, and Christmas Day, Weasley's." She explained before repressing a yawn. "It seems I'm more tired than I realized." She excused herself. "I'll head on to bed. Good night."

"Night." Draco replied with a smile before leaving a quick peck on her lips, and Harry switched his weight from one foot to the other, uncomfortable.

"Good night." The brunet mumbled when she looked at him. Astoria nodded with a smile before moving away.

"Now why don't I get you your Christmas gift?" The blond suggested naughtily once the woman was gone, looking hungrily at Harry.

The brunet blushed slightly. "I thought you didn't open your presents until morning." He replied teasingly.

"Trust me, what I have in mind shouldn't wait until morning." He half-smiled before turning around. "Of course, if you don't want it-" He began, taking a few steps in the general direction of the other man's room.

"I never said that!" Harry interrupted, hurrying a little to catch up and making the other giggle. "I'm not one to refuse presents, you know. I'm not that rude."

"I thought not." He whispered before suddenly turning, moving towards Harry and forcing the brunet to stumble backwards until he hit the wall. A small smile crossed Draco's lips before he pinned the other man against the cold stone, taking his lips unceremoniously and demanding passage with his tongue. Surprised, Harry complied, and the kiss was more dominating and passionate than gentle, but left them both breathless just the same. "I've been wanting to do that all night." He confessed at the foot of Harry's ear before gently biting the earlobe.

Harry only mustered a groan in return, his brain fuzzy with the sudden attack.

"I could have you right here, you know." The blond continued teasing, kissing and licking his way down the other man's neck.

The idea sent shivers of excitement down Harry's spine, and he felt Draco smile at the reaction. But a moment of lucidity was all it took and he shook his head, pushing the blond away gently by the shoulders and imposing some much-needed distance between them. "As much as I'd like that, I don't fancy the idea of being caught, least of all by one of the kids."

"The risk is part of the fun, Potter." He replied, pushing forward.

"I'm already having a difficult enough time bonding with my children, I don't need another thing to stand in my way." He insisted, dodging Draco's attempts to increase their physical contact. "My bed will do just fine for what you have in mind."

"But you don't know what I have in mind." He smiled hungrily, letting his eyes run up and down the brunet's body.

Harry blushed under the lustful look he received, and struggled to keep himself under control. "If it's a wall you need, there are four of them in my room. And in any other room with a closeable door." He replied, his breath catching slightly.

"Doors are overrated."

Draco pushed harder, and it only took a split second for the brunet to realize that, if he allowed the contact, he'd give in and they'd both end up very naked in the middle of the hallway. So taking advantage of the moment, he ducked under one of the blond's arms and rushed further down the corridor, headed to his own room.

"Might be, but you better hurry if you don't want to be stuck on the wrong side of mine." He teased, looking over his shoulder, and in no time he could hear Draco's steps echoing behind him.

As had been every time the two spent the night together, Harry didn't actually get much rest, and yawned his way through the modest breakfast he shared with the other two adults. The children were still fast asleep - or perhaps not; they hadn't, however, left their rooms yet -, and there was a strange serenity in the silence surrounding them. The calm before the storm, the brunet would find out when, just over an hour later, the guests arrived talking loud and making a mess in the usually very tidy manor.

Charlie was the first to arrive, tagging along with Bill, Fleur and their offspring. As perfect little hosts, all four kids were there to greet them, and everybody else who arrived after. Draco had certainly imprinted them with perfect Malfoy manners, Harry thought as he watched them. The guests gathered out in the garden, where two large tables had been set parallel to one another, with a perfect view of the Quidditch field further down. A hoard of brooms waited patiently to be claimed a few feet from the end of the tables.

"So, who's in the first team?" James asked excitedly, and Harry assumed it meant all the guests had arrived.

"We're in!" Scorpius and Albus chorused, joining the older boy, bringing their own brooms, which were clearly superior to the ones being offered to the guests.

"Hey, it's not fair to have you all in the same team!" Louis, Bill's youngest son, complained, choosing a broom for himself, and the three boys laughed.

"We'll lead team two, then." Scorpius decided, taking a few steps to the side.

One by one, the other guests joined them. In the end, the two teams were as such: James, Louis, Lily, Bill, Charlie, and George's kids, Fred and Roxie, to one side, and Albus, Scorpius, Harry, Ron, George, Hugo and Lucy, Percy's youngest, to the other. The first match lasted just over an hour, and the scoreboard was very balanced until Scorpius caught the Snitch, granting his team the win. With a promise to scramble the players before the second game, they joined the others at the table for lunch, excitedly going over plays they'd just performed, and moves they saw on World Championship matches that they'd been wanting to try.

Harry ended up sitting with Charlie, Bill and Fleur, and had very pleasant conversations which, gratefully, didn't involve him discussing and/or getting advice on how to deal with his estranged children. The oldest Weasley was still working at Gringotts, but now occupied a high position and was in charge of handling the interactions between the bank's different headquarters in different countries, which involved frequent traveling during most of the year. Now that they were alone the majority of the time, Fleur often came along with her husband, filling her days with sightseeing and some light shopping, and they often made little holidays of the trips.

Charlie, on the other hand, was still caring for dragons in Romania, though now he was chief of his own division, and was in charge of assessing the situation of potential new residents to the sanctuary and, if they weren't suitable (usually because the sanctuary was already operating at full capacity, and funds were still scarce), finding them new homes. It wasn't such a hands-on job, he explained, but he still got to spend time with the majestic animals, without actually having to deal with the less glamorous side of the work. Harry could see he was very happy with his life, even if he deflated a little when Charlie teased him about his lack of a personal life. The brunet made a mental note to stay off the subject with that particular redhead as much as he could.

Not long after they finished eating, the eager Quidditch players organized themselves into two different teams and were up in the air again. This time Harry was on the same team as James, and playing against his other two children. As the two were playing chaser, it meant interacting quite a lot, and Harry was happy that, at least for the moment, he wasn't being treated with the usual hostility.

Halfway through the game, James pulled the most impressive play of the day. He dodged an opposing chaser by turning upside down on his broom, on arm firmly wrapped around the Quaffle, only to be the target of a Bludger which forced him to hang only by his legs, and as the ball seemed particularly irritated by the miss, it turned around and came back, forcing the boy into a nose dive while he still struggled to stabilize himself on the broom. He was just a couple of feet away from the goal posts by then, and maneuvered from the dive straight towards Louis, who was playing Keeper, with another chaser on a straight line his way. Making no moves to avoid the apparently inevitable collision, he kept on ahead, deliberating ignoring the player who was now an arm's length away from him. Deciding it wasn't worth risking an injury, the blond boy got slightly out of the way with barely a second to spare, and with reflexes sharp as only a gifted player could have, James took a sharp turn to the other side and, once again turning upside down, he threw the Quaffle for a perfect goal.

The whole action didn't take more than a few seconds, and immediately his team erupted in loud cheers as they waited for Louis to recover the ball so they could carry on. Harry approached the boy and patted him on the shoulder.

"That was amazing, son." He smiled encouragingly.

"I'm not your son." James replied through gritted teeth, dodging the touch and turning around.

"Jamie, don't-"

"And don't call me that. Actually, don't call me at all, okay?" His tone was clearly irritated, and the brunet stood in place, unsure about what to do next.

"Don't talk to your father like that." Draco, who'd joined the second game, warned in a low voice, flying to join them.

"He's not my father." James grunted.

"James Sirius! I'm warning you-"

"No, Draco, it's okay, really." Harry smiled embarrassedly, trying to hide how hurt the words really made him.

"No, Potter, it's not okay. He knows better than to talk that way to anybody, and to you most of all." He replied decisively, turning back to the boy. "You will watch your tone and your words, young man, and you will apologize right now."

"Why should I?" He said defiantly, but avoided the silver eyes. He was torn between being angry at the brunet and hurt for disappointing the blond.

"Draco, it's okay, let's just go back to the game. I'm sure Jamie - James." He corrected himself. "I'm sure it's just a misunderstanding, really, and he just needs time to get used to the idea of me being-"

"I don't need time." The boy replied, anger winning the internal struggle. "It doesn't matter how long it's been, you'll never be my father, Harry. You're not my dad, I already have one, and I don't want or need another."

"Jamie, I'm not trying to replace-"

"You couldn't anyway!"

"I know it's hard for you, but-"

"Hard? You know? What the hell do you know? You abandoned us when we were just little kids, and now you think you can just show up and claim back what you gave away? You think I'll just come running back after all this time?" His voice grew louder by the sentence, and all players were standing perfectly still, holding their breaths and trying to decide if they should stay or leave.

"James!" Draco said outraged. "Don't you-"

Harry reached out and touched the blond man's forearm. "No, let him say what he has to say." He said calmly before turning back to the boy, nodding an encouragement.

The change in attitude confused James for a moment, and when he spoke again, he wasn't yelling anymore. "You're not my father, Harry. Draco is. He was the one who was there when I had nightmares, when I got hurt, when I got into Hogwarts, when I got into the Gryffindor team. He was there when it mattered, and you weren't, and there's nothing you can do to make up for it now. It's too late. So stop trying, because it's pathetic, and it's annoying, and too bad if you lost your kids, but I already have a dad, so just go away already and let us get back to our lives."

"Jamie-" Harry started, but the boy flew away as fast as his broom would carry him.

"Potter, I..." Draco started, needing the other man to understand he never meant to take his place that way.

"It's not your fault." He smiled sadly, and movement in the corner of his eyes caught his attention. It was Albus and Scorpius flying after James. "It seems I ruined the game, huh?" He joked, looking at the other players who were all landing, silently making their way back to the tables to join the others. He tried to laugh, but all that came out of him was a strangled sound that seemed alien even to his own ears.

"I'm sure he didn't really mean that." Draco tried to soothe him, knowing there probably wasn't anything he could say that would help. "He was just upset and..." He let his voice fade, his eyes watching the people moving under him, cursing their presence that wouldn't allow him to be as close to Harry as he knew the brunet needed him to at the moment. "Things will work out okay, you'll see." He rest a hand on Harry's shoulder.

"Yeah, sure." He smiled the best he could, covering Draco's hand with his own. "Anyway." He said after a moment, trying to sound cheery. "Let's not let it ruin the holiday. And you have guests to attend to." He flew down, and the blond stayed behind for a few beats, before following him.

Inside the manor, the two thirteen-year-olds found James hurriedly packing an overnight bag with whichever clothes he could find: the jacket he normally left tossed over the couch, the two pairs of jeans he had, a crumpled button-down shirt which he quickly smelled before stuffing it into the bag, a couple of T-shirts, socks and underwear. The two younger boys stood by the door watching him for a few quiet moments.

"What are you doing?" Albus asked quietly, even though all three knew the answer already. He couldn't think of anything better to say, and it sounded friendly enough.

"I'll stay at Chase's for a while." He replied without looking at them, surveying the room to make sure he wasn't leaving anything important behind.

"It's Christmas." Scorpius added quietly.

"So?" James closed the bag and threw it over one shoulder, retrieving the wand he'd left on his desk.

"You should stay home. Mom and dad won't like it that you're not here." The brunet explained half-heartedly. He wasn't too keen on the whole family time thing either, but understood his parents' point of view.

"Yeah, well, too bad."

"Look, I know you're upset with everything that's happening, Harry being back and all-"

"What do you know, Albus? You're gonna tell me how I feel now, and how I should give him a chance and all that crap they've been telling us since we got back?" His tone rose, and even though they hardly ever fought, none of his brothers even flinched at the outburst.

"No, Jamie. I don't have any right to tell you how to feel, but running away won't change anything." His voice was more controlled than the blond's, but it was still evident he was altered. "I know it sucks that he's back after all this time wanting to pretend nothing happened, but it wasn't really his fault either, you know. It's not like he chose to stay in a coma for ten years!"

"Maybe not, but he can't expect to just show up and have us be his happy little family again, Albus! He freaking abandoned us, they both did, and now that everything's alright again-"

"They didn't abandon us, James! He spent ten years unconscious in a hospital bed and she's dead!"

"Well, they should've considered the risks when they left us behind that day. They should've thought of us and been more careful or-"

"They were out shopping. We were sick. They couldn't have known-"

"Why are you defending them anyway? It's not like they're our family or anything."

"But they are! They... were, or-"

"The Malfoys are my family. Draco is my dad, Astoria is my mom and the two of you and Lily are my siblings, but he's nothing to me."

"He's our father!"

"No, he's not! He was never there for any of us, and he can't pretend it makes no difference!"

"He's not trying to pretend anything, Jamie! He knows all that, and he's trying to be part of our lives now that he can!"

"Well, if you're so certain of that, why don't you go running back to him and you can be a little happy family again? I have a family already, and I don't care for another one."

Albus's eyes were filled with tears, and his jaw trembled slightly under the pressure with which he was gritting his teeth in an attempt to contain them. He took in a shaky breath, eyes fixed on his older brother, trying to think of a reply. A moment later, he'd run out of the room as fast as his legs would carry him.

Scorpius and James stared at each other for long moments, defying one another to say anything. The older boy's grip on the strap of his bag tightened as he considered simply walking out, wondering if the other boy would try to stop him and exactly which spells he'd be able to get away with if it came down to that. For a brief moment, he remembered how they'd never really fought before, how well they all got along and how now he was considering hexing his younger brother. It was all Harry's fault, he thought, feeling the anger bubble up inside him again.

The younger blond stood by the door just breathing, trying to get himself back under control. He'd always been friends with James, but his reaction to having his father back in their lives was completely out of proportion. Okay, so he didn't really know how it felt to be in the boy's shoes, so he stood back while his brothers argued, but Albus was crying when he left the room. And James had done that. And he couldn't forgive anyone for doing something like that.

"You apologize to him, James." He said quietly, with more authority in his voice than the other thought possible for someone so young. "You've gone too far this time. Go cool off somewhere, and when you come back, you apologize to him properly, and make sure to make it up to him." Before the other boy could say anything, he turned and left.

Shocked at what had happened, it took James a couple of minutes to recompose himself and get back to what he was doing. There were too many conflicting feelings inside him, too many of which resembled anger too much to make him comfortable, and the need to get away was the only thing in his mind. Without a second thought, he shoved his hand in the bag of Floo Powder by the fireplace and disappeared into the green flames.


	9. Chapter 9

CHAPTER NINE

"I'm really sorry about today." Harry said quietly as the three adults sat in the living room, waiting for James to return.

Things remained tense in the manor for nearly an hour after the teenager stormed out of the Quidditch field, and some of it remained until all the guests made their exits. The younger boys informed Draco about James's whereabouts, and though he wasn't satisfied with the turn of events, he felt considerably relieved. Not too many minutes before that, he'd gone looking for the boy only to find his room empty and no note left behind.

Night had already fallen and dinner had been quiet, composed of leftovers from lunch heated up with spells and eaten in different rooms and different times by those living in the manor. The Malfoy patriarch had spoken to Chase's parents and made sure James wouldn't consider spending the night away. Now they were all anxiously waiting for his return, each considering appropriate lectures and punishments, but altogether unsure how to handle the situation now that there were three parental figures in the picture.

"It's not your fault, Harry." Astoria spoke softly, smiling at him. She hadn't witnessed the events firsthand, but for a long time it was the main topic of conversation in the garden.

"It kind of is, though." He shrugged weakly, looking away. "Maybe I was too pushy, trying to reconnect and all. He probably needed more time, but I-"

"If that was the case, he could've politely said so." The blond man cut him off, a tone of irritation clear in his voice. "I certainly didn't raise anyone to make such scandals or to be rude to anyone else."

"It's not his fault, Draco." The brunet argued, but the other man shook his head.

"Regardless of how he felt, that wasn't an appropriate response, and he knows that very well."

"He's a teenager, honey." Astoria interfered. "He knows it was wrong, but he's still learning how to control himself, and you know he's always been the most impulsive of the four."

"Still..." He murmured, but let the argument die and the uncomfortable silence surround them.

It took nearly an hour of waiting, mostly in silence, before the blond boy arrived, backpack balanced on one shoulder and eyes down, avoiding them and trying to make it out of the room unnoticed.

"James." The word left Draco's lips with such authority it made the brunet shiver, and was enough for the boy to stop in his tracks and turn around, even though he kept his eyes lowered. "I believe you owe us all apologies, and we have to discuss your punishment for your behavior today."

"I'm sorry." He mumbled half-heartedly. "I'll do whatever you want me to, just leave a note on my door or whatever. May I be excused?"

"You're not getting out of this that easily. Look at us when you apologize, and explain what you're apologizing for so you know not to make the same mistakes again." Draco insisted.

James took a deep breath, letting the strap of his backpack slide down his shoulder and grabbing it before the bag fell to the floor. "I'm sorry for running off, mom, dad." He said quietly, looking from one to the other. "It was irresponsible, I didn't leave a note so you knew where I was, and it was immature running away from my problems, because I know it doesn't help and they won't solve themselves."

While Harry was half-impressed by the choice of words, he could tell it was a rehearsed speech, and wondered just how much of it the boy meant.

Another deep breath later, the brunet and his son made eye contact. "I'm sorry for yelling at you, Harry. I'm sorry I was rude, and I'm sorry if my words hurt you. " He looked back to Draco. "May I be excused now?"

The blond remained quiet, pondering over the request, but Astoria replied for him. "Yes, honey. But stay in your room; we'll let you know your punishment in a short while."

Moving as fast as he could without running, the boy disappeared through the door.

For the following several minutes, the three adults argued over which punishment would be appropriate for James, with Draco wanting to make an example of the situation, Harry taking the blame and wanting to give him a free pass, and Astoria being the voice of reason, standing between the two men. In the end, it was decided James would have to write lines and would be deprived of his allowance for the following month, and the next Hogsmeade visitation.

The rest of Winter Break went by before they realized it, and this time Harry chose to go with the rest of them to King's Cross. The situation was every bit as weird as the final days at the manor had been, perhaps even more because, being not only the boy-who-lived-twice but also the latest medicine miracle, Harry was getting more attention than he had in a long time, which consequently extended to his children, and as soon as they could, they all disappeared into the Hogwarts Express and the adults left the station.

Things were awfully quiet now there were only the three adults in the house, two of whom spent most of their days involved with their work. Harry tried the extensive library a few times, visited old friends as much as he could, but it didn't take him long to feel helplessly bored and start complaining about it, even if he didn't mean to.

"Maybe you should find a hobby or something." Draco suggested as they lay together one night. "You know I'd like to spend more time with you but I really-"

"No, it's okay, I get it. I can't ask you to take time away from your job just because I don't have one. And your right, I really need to find something to do with my time. I just don't know what." He agreed, distractedly drawing circles on the blond's chest.

"I'm sure if you asked any of your friends, they'd be glad to give you a job. And anyone in the Ministry, and pretty much anyone anywhere. What would you like to do?"

"I honestly have no idea." He shrugged slightly.

"I don't suppose you want to go back to being an auror?"

The brunet shook his head. "The danger doesn't sound as appealing anymore. And I don't want to take any risks, not after everything..."

Draco nodded. "Maybe some desk job at the Ministry?"

"Are you kidding me? I'd hate spending the day locked up indoors." He smiled, looking up to meet silver eyes.

The blond laughed softly. "It's not so bad once you get used to it, Potter." Harry stuck out his tongue and looked away, and the other man left a soft kiss on top of his head. "Either way, I guess it rules out any position I could offer you."

"I'd never ask you to, you know. I'll find something for myself, don't worry about it."

Draco just smiled and pulled the brunet closer. In a few minutes, he was sound asleep.

Harry, on the other hand, spent most of the night thinking, going from one possibility to the other, without ever really finding anything that pleased him. A job which allowed him time outdoors meant interacting with people, and the last thing he wanted as to be harassed all over again. At the same time, sitting on his bottom all day was more the stuff of nightmares than a possible career path.

When the first rays of sunlight entered through the curtains and he finally let himself rest, at least one decision he had made.

He was moving back to Grimmauld Place.

* * *

"Are you sure that's what you want? You know you're welcome to stay here for as long as you want, right?" Draco insisted as he watched Harry packing his bags.

The brunet had communicated his decision over breakfast, and both his hosts had been evidently surprised by the abrupt change. He explained how he needed start rebuilding his own life and stop intruding on theirs, be he wasn't sure the blond man had understood all too well. Okay, maybe understood, but definitely not accepted. He had, after all, taken the morning off to try and convince him to change his mind.

"It's okay, Draco. I know what I'm doing." He reassured, closing one of the suitcases with the help of a little magic. He was, after all, trying to fit in more than the poor bag could handle.

"Well, who's going to keep me warm at night?" The blond asked teasingly, getting up and enlacing the brunet by the waist, making him giggle.

"How about your wife?"

Draco stuck his tongue out. "It's not the same thing."

"Well, you'll have to get used to it, then." He teased back, letting their lips meet for a lazy kiss. "Seriously, I love being here with you all, but not doing anything is driving me crazy. And you said it yourself, I should find a hobby or something."

"I didn't mean you had move out in order to do that, you know."

Harry smiled kindly and stayed in silence for a few minutes, just staring at the silver eyes watching him. With a sigh, he let his eyes close and rested his forehead against the blond's. "You know I'm grateful for everything you and Astoria did for me, right?" He felt the nod in reply, and his lips curled up slightly. "It's just something I have to do for myself. I need to get my life back."

"I know." Draco whispered, gently touching Harry's lips with his own. "I just got so used to having you around, especially after everything that happened." He explained, taking a few steps back to let the other man return to packing.

"I'm not going to spend another ten years in a coma, Draco." He joked with a smile, but the blond didn't return the expression.

"We don't really know that, do we? I mean, nobody expected an attack, and yet..."

"What, now you're going to tell me you can't live without me or something?" His tone was teasing, but he couldn't deny how much he wished Draco would agree.

The blond took a moment to reply, their eyes locked with such intensity it sent shivers through their bodies. Then he ran a hand through his hair, looking away before speaking. "Don't be so full of yourself, Potter. I just don't want to go through the same trouble to care for your sorry ass again."

"Oh, but you _love_ this sorry ass, Malfoy." He also looked away in order to hide the shadow of hurt running through his eyes. He knew big declarations of love wasn't characteristic from either of them, but at times it seemed a harder fact to accept than it should be.

"Damn right I do. As a matter of fact..." He smiled naughtily, slowly making his way to where Harry stood with his back to him, filling the suitcase resting on the bed. "Maybe I should show you just how much right now." He whispered before capturing an earlobe with his mouth, his arms wrapped around Harry's torso.

The brunet bit his lower lip, his eyes fluttering shut in reaction to the caress. "Maybe you should, lest I forget during my time away..."

Harry only managed to finish packing after lunch, and it was already mid-afternoon when he finally grabbed his belongings and started the walk towards the manor front gates, from where he'd be able to apparate. Astoria said her goodbyes at the front door before excusing herself, and Draco walked the brunet all the way out. He was quieter than usual, and Harry thought it was better to just let him be.

"Come for lunch on Saturday." The blond finally said as he mindlessly cast the spells to open the gate.

"Draco..."

"Better yet, spend the day here. Or the weekend. Or don't go at all." He smiled weakly, and the brunet melted under his gaze, his resolution faltering for a moment.

"I'll be fine and so will you." He reassured, both the blond and himself. "And don't get too buried in work, it's not healthy." He smiled before adding, "And I want you in top shape for the next time I come to visit."

Draco smiled back and pulled him in for a lazy kiss. "Are you sure you don't want to take one of the elves with you? The house probably needs a good-"

"I'll be fine. See you soon."

Draco nodded, and the brunet disappeared with a crack.

* * *

Harry landed on the top step leading to Grimmauld Place, a habit he'd kept from the wartime. Leaving his bags on the floor, he fondly touched the aged wood before picking his wand and working on the protective spells which were put over the property. Almost ten minutes later, he finally got through the last magic barrier and reached a hand to the knob, slowly turning it and opening the door.

The first thing he noticed was the smell of old and closed rooms, which didn't bother him much, but reminded him just how long he was away for. As he closed the door behind himself, he could almost hear the sound of a five-year-old James running around, teasing his brother and trying to avoid Ginny's lectures.

He leaned his head on the door as the first tear sprung to his eyes. Suddenly there wasn't enough air in the world to fill his lungs, and ripping his heart from his chest with his bare hands wouldn't hurt as much.

It was too soon.

He should've gone somewhere else, he should've gone anywhere else.

He could still go somewhere else.

Perhaps spend a few days at the Leaky Caldron while he found himself a small flat somewhere else; he could come back in a month, or six. Or never again, because at that moment he didn't think he would ever be ready to face the ghosts that haunted the house.

Turning around, he leaned his back against the door and let himself slide down until he was holding his knees against his chest. He could see so clearly the first time he returned to the house after the war, and painful as it was, it didn't begin to compare.

Fifteen years before, he and Ginny were walking through that same door, baby James asleep on her lap, after they'd taken a cab from St. Mungo's. They'd both agreed Floo and apparition would be too much for a new-born. For the first hour, the three of them just cuddled on the sofa, watching the boy's chest rise and fall, in awe of their new family. Harry could still remember the way his own chest swelled with love and pride for the little creature he helped create.

Two years later, they did exactly the same with Albus. His older brother was under Molly's care, and they were so careful with the newborn, bringing him home and settling him on his crib. The brunet's tears intensified as he remembered how they joked about the differences already apparent between the boys; Albus continued sleeping peacefully after leaving his mother's arms, but James had started crying at the top of his young lungs. Young and potent, Ginny had joked and laughed.

And then there was their little girl, who was brought home by Floo, in the middle of the confusion of Hermione going into labor, Arthur falling sick and the boys being particularly fussy with all the restrictions they were submitted to at the hospital. Lily didn't appreciate it much, but didn't throw up, and stopped crying as soon and she was offered milk.

Taking deep breaths, Harry did all he could to stop the tears, rubbing them off with the back of his hands. They were all gone, he reminded himself. His wife and his children, the children he knew, all lost forever. But he wasn't, and it was time to start rebuilding his own life. That's what Ginny would've wanted, he told himself, but found little comfort in the knowledge.

Still sitting on the floor, he let his eyes wander around the dusty foyer, and rehearsed a smile as he remembered the time Draco had come to spend the weekend one of the times Ginny was away with the Holy Harpies. It'd been just before she'd gotten pregnant, and they were so eager they didn't make it past the stairs. They barely managed to stumble through the door after their walk through the park across the street, and the steps were surface enough.

The same steps Lily insisted in climbing as she was learning to walk, and where James had stumbled and gotten the last boo-boo Harry remembered. He could almost see the two of them sitting on the first step as Ginny cleaned the injury with a healing potion, and the boy had hidden his face on Harry's lap complaining it stung. He'd rubbed his hand on James's back, and shared an understanding smile with the redhead.

The steps he climbed up with Ginny on his arms when they returned home from their wedding, making her laugh and hold on tightly to his neck, afraid to fall. And where he threatened to do the same to Draco on day, getting himself hexed before having a fit of laughter.

His mind didn't seem able to settle in a single memory or, better yet, to neglect the events related to every inch of the house he knew so well, and he was well-aware it wouldn't be any different in any other room, for probably weeks.

Sniffing, he stood up and grabbed his suitcases, headed to his bedroom. The walk was slow as memories flooded though his mind, but he kept his feelings in check and reached his destination. After a quick spell to get rid of the dust, he unpacked and lay down across the bed, staring at the ceiling. That was where his plan came to an end. He had no idea what to do from now on.


	10. Chapter 10

CHAPTER TEN

The grumble of his raging stomach woke Harry up, and he was surprised to see daylight coming brightly through the chinks of the dusty curtains. He never realized he'd fallen asleep, let alone that he was out for half a day.

And without dinner, his stomach reminded him.

He rolled out of bed and, after his usual morning ablutions, headed down to the kitchen. The only things he found in the cabinets were dust, cobwebs and a little black thing that ran into the shadow and which he was pretty certain was a spider. Sighing, he stood in the middle of the kitchen, pondering his options.

After a few minutes, he remembered a small dinner not too many blocks away which served a pretty decent breakfast. So maybe it had been ten years before, but surely it was still worth the shot, right?

He grabbed the heavy coat he'd left on the handrail and stepped outside. It was still very early, and everything was quiet. A bird chirped in the park across the street; the wind whispered softly in his ear, making the hairs on his nape stand on end. Other than that, he didn't see any movement, not a stray cat, not a drunk person cuddling the curb, not a taxi cab taking some clubber home after a night of partying.

The bell over the door rang as he entered the establishment, and he was grateful for the heated air in the room as he took a seat in the corner. You've got to be able to see who's coming in, he thought to himself, and smiled. Old war habits that never died; most everyone he knew still lived by them, and probably would until the end of their lives.

The place was deserted as had been the street, and a young lady yawned before coming over to offer him a menu. He quickly ran his eyes up and down the page, and his stomach roared once again as he considered something light to eat. Defeated, he ordered a full breakfast, which didn't take long to arrive. And it was only after he'd gone through half of his plate that his brain allowed his thoughts to drift away from biological needs.

Now he was out of the house, his mind seemed clearer, and he was able to focus on the practical side of moving back. He could probably finish cleaning during the week, but then he'd have to _keep_ the house clean. He needed to go shopping for groceries, because the thought of eating out every day wasn't appealing at all. Maybe neither was cooking twice a day, but it seemed more acceptable for him at the moment than socializing all the time. He could get a house-elf like Draco suggested, but he knew there was so much for him to deal with, and he'd want to be alone.

Maybe when he found a way to occupy his days.

And then there was that.

He didn't need the money, he was well-aware of that, but if he didn't have a reason to get out of the house every day, he knew he'd drown in memories and it would kill him. So he decided there and then, he would find something to do, something that gave him some sort of purpose. But what, was beyond him.

Taking advantage of the fact he was out of the house already, he walked another few blocks to a nearby supermarket, and got home almost with more bags than he could carry. Once it was all put away, he started the long process of cleaning the house.

Harry decided to start with the rooms he'd use the most, the kitchen and the study, which were also some of the least emotionally charged in the house. He didn't know many household spells, and though there was bound to be at least one book on the matter in the extensive Black library, the perspective of a little - or a lot - of physical work was appealing, and he chose to go about the matter the muggle way.

It took a lot of persistence and time to go through the kids' rooms, putting away old childish toys, baring the room so it could hopefully be decorated by his children if they ever chose to come home. It was a long and exhausting week, but by the end of it, the ghosts of the past were less haunting and more companionable.

He chose to skip lunch with the Malfoys on Saturday, because now he was in the house, he didn't want to leave unless strictly necessary. A quick note in reply to Draco's was all the excuse he made, and it vaguely occurred to him he needed to buy himself a new owl. Which meant going to Diagon Alley, where he hadn't been in a decade, and where he'd be undoubtedly singled out as the boy who lived _three_ times. He didn't need to communicate that much, did he?

For the following few days, he dedicated himself to tackling the books in the library which were on his to-read list and had been pushed back with the birth of his children, and only made contact with the Wizarding world again when Hermione Floo-called one afternoon before coming over.

"I heard you'd moved back." She commented as he served her tea and biscuits. They were sitting across from each other at the kitchen table, trying to get over the discomfort which had established itself ever since he'd woken up from the coma.

"Yeah, it's been a couple of weeks. How d'you find out? Only Draco and Astoria knew." Hermione narrowed her eyes marginally at the last bit of information, but he chose to ignore it.

"An intern at the Ministry saw you at a muggle supermarket a few blocks from here. Nobody would believe him, but they started speculating nonetheless. And you know how gossip flies there." He nodded quietly. "How are you holding up? It can't be easy being back here."

"I'm okay. It's not easy, but it gets better." It was Hermione's turn to nod in acknowledgement. "At least I don't cry every five minutes anymore." He joked and smiled, but she didn't share the expression, and he sighed. "They're still everywhere. I keep expecting to enter a room and see the boys playing or fighting, or Lily's cries to wake me up in the middle of the night, or Ginny to come through the fireplace complaining about whatever Molly said this time. And I have to keep reminding myself they're gone, and my heart breaks every time. But being here makes it real, and makes me accept the facts. This is it. This is my life now, and I can't keep avoiding it, hoping things will go back to what they used to be." He sustained the look they were sharing for another few moments before looking down to his cooling tea. He hadn't meant to come across quite so strongly, but if felt strangely good to have it all out there.

"You could get them back, you know." She said quietly after a while, still watching him closely. He looked up to her, but didn't say anything. "You just have to say the word and any judge will give custody back to you. That way they'd be forced to-"

"No." He interrupted her, not a hint of doubt in his voice. "I want them to want to come home. They're their own people now, and the choice has to be theirs."

"But you're their father, Harry, it's not right-"

"No. I refuse to do that to them." He could see in her expression she wanted to argue, but his tone didn't allow it. "Besides, they don't consider me their father anymore, and until they do, I can't allow myself that indulgence. It'll just make things more painful."

They sipped their cold beverages in silence for long minutes.

"What are you going to do now, then?" Hermione finally asked, forcing her lips into a friendly smile the best she could.

"I don't know." He admitted with a half-smile, feeling he was finally talking to the friend he grew up with again.

"I'm sure we could get you a job at the Ministry, if you want."

He shook his head. "I've dealt with the Ministry more than enough for a lifetime, thanks."

This time her smile was genuine. "Maybe at George's shop, then? He's always looking for someone competent to work with. It's a lot harder to find than you think."

"I'm sure it is. But I'd probably just become another product on display, and though I'm sure it'd increase his income, I'd really rather be left alone."

"You have to do something, Harry. You can't just stay here all day."

"I know that. But there isn't much that doesn't involve becoming a circus attraction or sitting in a cubicle all day."

"I know." She smiled again, and they stayed silent for a few minutes. "How about volunteer work? I haven't heard much about it in the wizarding world, but maybe in the muggle world? That way you wouldn't be recognized as much, if at all."

"Yeah, maybe. I don't need the money anyway, and it'd be nice to be anonymous."

They smiled at each other.

"Do you want me to look into it for you?"

Harry shook his head. "I have far more free time in my hands than you do. I'm sure I can find something."

She nodded, standing up. "Let me know when you find anything. And if you need anything, Harry, don't hesitate."

"I know." He smiled, walking her to the fireplace. "Thanks for everything, Hermione." He said honestly, hugging her.

"Don't be a stranger." She joked before disappearing in the green flames.

With a new goal in sight, he decided to allow himself the weekend to indulge in leisure time and go hunting for institutions taking in stray volunteers come Monday.

* * *

A week and serious considerations of purchasing a car later, Harry finally found a place that would take him in. He'd more or less accidentally ran into it during his wanderings around town, and it seemed quite a good fit, he thought. He didn't have anything specific in mind - he didn't have any specialized skills when it came to the muggle world -, but he figured there was bound to be something simple, perhaps physical, for which he was fit. And after talking to Mr. Goff from the Vic Allen Foundation, he felt he'd found his place.

The Vic Allen Foundation was a nursing home which offered free housing for war veterans, as well as aid with any health issues they might be dealing with. It was located in a very large property, especially for that part of the city, and currently had just over forty occupants, plus the staff. Its constant and successful fund raisers, as well as the nobility of the cause itself, helped maintain the foundation open comfortably, but the veterans living there didn't have many opportunities to socialize other than with each other, and they could hardly enjoy the facilities to the fullest, because the limited staff demanded they be handled in groups, rather than the individual care which would be ideal.

Being a war veteran himself, he thought it would be nice to be around people who knew what he went through without really knowing who he was; here he could just be another soldier instead of the great hero. They did seem to think he'd been to some war in Afghanistan, and he didn't bother correcting them, but he made a mental note to check up on muggle news and figure what it was all about.

After a tour of the place, Harry was directed to a week-long preparing course, which involved basic emergency procedures as well as strategies to deal with conflicts that might arise and the appropriate ways to deal with the different disabilities he might encounter. It was all rather simple, a matter of common sense, except perhaps the first-aid part (he was tempted to just withdraw his wand and perform a little spell if the need arose, but he knew better), and he was very excited to get started.

He committed both mornings and afternoons on weekdays to work with the veterans, mostly keeping them company, and in return he was offered lunch from the cafeteria and commute money, which he politely refused. The foundation was just under half an hour by foot from Grimmauld Place, and as he repeated the trajectory that first week, he found it a very pleasant time to be alone with himself and put his thoughts in order, with the distractions of daily life around him to keep him company.

Harry soon made friends with most of the occupants, providing them with challenging chess matches, long conversations about the past (to which, admittedly, he was more of a spectator than an interlocutor, but they all seemed more than thrilled to have someone new to tell the same old stories to, and he couldn't help feeling special to be allowed to share such personal memories), and, when the weather allowed it, short walks in the foundation's yard.

Before he realized, a routine had been established: he worked from nine to five during the week, had lunch at the Malfoy manor on Saturday, and occasionally visited his friends on Sunday. There wasn't a day he didn't think about his children, how they were doing at school and whether they'd forgiven him yet, but he was finally comfortable in his shoes again.

Spring came early that year, and if the temperature was any indication, they were in for one very hot summer. As the weather got better, the healthier veterans constantly wanted to spend the day outside, and a few times he took one or other select friend on longer walks on the property. Sean Moore was one of his favorite people in the Foundation, and they could spend hours talking about anything. As Harry discovered, with a little creativity, anything from the Wizarding world could be adapted and discussed with muggles without threatening to breech the Statue of Secrecy.

It was during one of those long walks, with Harry lazily pushing Mr. Moore's wheelchair on the grass, that his mind wandered to the first time he met Draco after the war was over. They were talking about old sweethearts anyway, and his brain thought it only appropriate.

_Harry was walking across Battersea Park, enjoying being just another anonymous among the joggers and families enjoying the beautiful day out, when his eyes were drawn to a platinum-blond man sitting on a bench a few yards ahead. He'd recognize him anywhere: it was none other than Draco Malfoy._

_He pondered for a minute whether or not to approach him; they hadn't spoken since the battle of Hogwarts, and even before that, they'd always been less than friendly. But he was in a good mood, the sun was shining and the breeze and soft and warm, and he saw no harm in saying hello. At least _he_ could be polite, and the worst that would happen was to be ignored._

_"I never in a million years thought I'd see you anywhere muggle, Malfoy." He said with a smile, stopping a few steps away from him._

_Silver eyes looked up at him, the lack of their usual coldness giving them more depth. "But I'd assume you're right at home, aren't you, Potter?" Though his words weren't friendly, his tone wasn't disdainful or teasing as usual. He sounded merely tired, as if provoking the old school enemy was more of an obligation than a pleasure._

_"It's good not the be the center of attention for once."_

_"I hear you."_

_"Do you mind if I sit?" He asked on a whim, indicating the vacant spot on the bench._

_Draco shrugged minimally. "It's a public park, I can't stop you."_

_Taking the comment as consent, he took the seat and let his eyes wander forward, eventually focusing on a woman sitting with two children, having an improvised picnic. "How are you? I've heard the Ministry wasn't too kind to your family."_

_"It was to be expected, really."_

_"I suppose."_

_"There were mostly accusations, and some of the stuff was proved. I mean, we all had the Dark Mark and everything. But we came around in the end, so they couldn't punish us as much as they wanted to. They confiscated some of our property, and forbade my father to have access to any of the family money as a condition for his freedom, but other than that, we got away pretty much intact."_

_"I guess things turned out as well as they could have, then."_

_"Yeah." They stayed in silence for long minutes. Harry had to force himself not to stare at the blond, consumed with curiosity about this man who was physically the spoiled brat he'd grown up with, but acted and talked so differently._

_"Are you okay? You seem... tired."_

_"I've been skipping my beauty sleep, if that's what you're asking."_

_Harry smiled, but Draco remained impassive. "If your dad isn't running things anymore, does that mean you had to take over?"_

_"Someone had to. He didn't do much anyway, and now I have to. He left the business a mess, and things were controlled mostly by his advisers. I've been raised for this, but I'd been told I'd get a business in much better shape."_

_"Sounds like a lot of hard work."_

_"It is. So I came here to have a few minutes alone with my thoughts."_

_"And I interrupted."_

_"Don't you always?" They looked at each other, and this time Draco was smiling._

"... for long, don't you think?"

"I'm sorry, what?" Harry asked with a frown, looking down at the man looking up at him.

"You haven't listened to a word I said, have you?" The words were reproachful, but the tone was light and Mr. Moore was smiling.

"I'm really sorry. What were you saying?" He asked as he locked the wheelchair in place and sat beside the old man on one of the many wooden benches spread around.

"Just old stories, boy, nothing to worry about." He patted Harry's knee weakly, and the brunet smiled embarrassedly. "Thinking about your girl?"

"Er, something like that."

Mr. Moore looked intensely at him for a few moments, and Harry shifted his position uncomfortably. "Your boy, maybe?" The elder man couldn't help laughing at the blush that took over Harry's face. He'd never talked about Draco with anyone, and he remembered that even as kids, being gay was considered one of the worst insults you could give someone. "It's alright, you know. I went to war, spent months on end with a bunch of men and not a woman in sight. We had needs, and found ways to meet them. Some of the guys never looked back."

"Oh, I... I didn't know."

"Desperate times, my boy, desperate times... Some of my best friends were... what is the right word nowadays? You know, like you. We didn't discuss what each of us did in our bedrooms, and things were just fine between us." Harry smiled, letting his eyes wander away. "So, this guy of yours. How long have you been together?"

"We're... We're not exactly together. He, er, he's married and has a family and all."

"Oh, well, what fun would it be if it weren't complicated?" He laughed to himself. "It sure wasn't easy with my Cora, I'll tell you."

"What happened?" He asked, glad not to be on the spotlight anymore.

"Well, I was a private just back from war, barely out of my teens and without a penny or a prospect job. It took a lot of hard work and convincing to have her parents let me marry her."

"But you did, in the end?"

"It took me a couple of years to build up my small business, and get established, but yes, eventually, we did get married."

"That's great." He smiled.

"How about you? Is your guy leaving his wife anytime soon or is he just playing with you? Because let me tell you, men like that are all the same. They keep promising they'll leave their wives and start afresh with you, and you keep putting your life on hold for them, but the truth is, they'd never have the balls to leave. Take my word for it, boy, I've seen it happen many a time in my day."

Harry laughed softly. "I don't know if that's him. Either way, there are no plans as far as him leaving his wife go. I never asked him to, and neither did he."

"You were married too, were you?"

"Yeah, as a matter of fact. For, er, a while anyway."

"So you did leave her for him, but he's not willing to do the same for you? Something smells bad there boy, I'm telling you." He said, pointing a shaking finger at Harry.

"Actually, my wife died, so..." He let his voice trail off.

"The war?"

"You could say so."

Mr. Moore nodded understandingly. Nothing more needed to be said; they both understood how people simply died during wars in a way no civilian ever could.

They remained in silence for a long time after that, each lost in his own thoughts and, in the case of the elderly man, in a very welcome nap. It was only when he started snoring that Harry laughed, his mind returning to his body, and he got up, unlocking the wheelchair.

"Time to go back inside, Mr. Moore."

The man just grumbled something unintelligible before going back to sleep.


	11. Chapter 11

CHAPTER ELEVEN

The conversation with Mr. Moore stayed with Harry for a long time. During the years they were together before, none of them had ever even considered the possibility of building a life together, the two of them, as a couple. They were engaged, and then married, and then had children, and everything seemed to be working out the way it should. They loved their wives, even if they weren't in love with them, and saw enough of each other, as even if they lived together, their jobs would keep them apart most of the time.

But now his life was completely different, and he felt strangely lonely, even if he saw Draco every week, and could see more of him if so he chose. He tried to get through to his mind that he could never ask such thing of the blond, and therefore should discard the idea altogether, but nothing is as persistent as an idea, and after weeks of denial, he finally allowed himself to consider what it could be like between them.

It wouldn't be too different, he figured. They had, after all, lived together, technically, for a short while, and it didn't mean having more of each other. But he longed to have someone to come home to, to share his life with in more senses than one, and not have to hide all the time. To know Draco was his no matter what, to the end of their lives.

It was due to such thoughts that his weekends at the manor gradually became less enjoyable. He still adored the other man's company, no matter what they did or didn't do together, and it still made him extremely happy to be with him, but the feelings were now accompanied by the loneliness of knowing the blond was only his for those few moments they shared. And it became harder and harder to suppress the sadness that took over him when the silver eyes weren't looking.

So Harry decided he wouldn't do it anymore.

"Be with me." He asked quietly, his head rising and falling softly to the rhythm of the blond's breathing, which was still slightly racy.

The request made Draco laugh, and the brunet raised himself on one elbow to look into silver eyes. "I thought that's what we were doing, Potter."

Harry looked away, not sharing the smile lingering on the other man's lips. He surely didn't expect any grand romantic gesture, but couldn't help feeling hurt his lover took his plea as a joke. "No, Draco, I mean..." He hesitated, afraid another spear would pierce through his heart at the reply. " I mean, really be with me. Just me and no one else. As... as a proper couple." His voice was barely a whisper.

"Where is this coming from now, Potter?" Draco questioned, clearly uncomfortable, sitting up with his back against the headboard. He waited for a reply as the other man sat beside him, still avoiding to look at him, but none came. "You know I can't, Harry." He said softly, savoring the name he so seldom used.

"Why not?" The brunet asked in a tiny voice, sounding almost childish. "The kids are all grown up, and you don't owe anything to anybody."

"It's not just me I have to consider, you know. Sure the kids don't depend on me as much anymore, but Lily's just twelve, and even the others, they still need me and Astoria as their family. And then there's Astoria-"

"You won't stop being their family just because you split up. And it's not like you're in love with her or anything, is it?"

"I love her, Potter, and you know that. And I owe her more than just to leave her on a whim."

"It wouldn't be a whim. We've been together for a long time, almost as long as you and her."

"Except for that ten-year hiatus." Draco mocked, the urge to escape the conversation growing on his chest.

"Still you waited for me." Harry whispered.

"Why are you asking me for this now?"

"I... We belong together. I just want to be together."

"Up until now, what we have was enough. What's changed?"

Harry looked down to his hands playing on his lap, very aware of the silver eyes watching him. "We each had our lives before, and that was the best we could get. But now-"

"Just because your life was thrown upside down and now you're nice and available, doesn't mean I have the same luxury. My whole life is still there, Potter, and though I've been making more concessions to you, it doesn't mean I can just give it all up for a stupid romantic ideal."

"I know that." the brunet replied defensively. "I know I'm asking a lot. But if you'd ever asked me, I would've left Ginny without a second thought."

"But that decision wasn't yours to make, so the burden isn't yours to carry."

Harry didn't reply.

A few minutes later, Draco got up and started getting dressed.

"I just feel you're my whole life, and I thought you felt the same." Harry said at last. "But it seems I'm willing to sacrifice so much more for us than you are."

The blond stopped at the door, his back to the bed. "If what we have isn't good enough for you, Potter, feel free to walk away."

Only a lifetime of practice allowed Draco to keep the heartbreak out of his voice.

* * *

Harry tossed and turned on his bed all night, and when he got to the dining room for breakfast the next morning, Draco was almost done and quickly excused himself, claiming business emergencies, without exchanging more than two words with the brunet.

"He does that all the time when you're not here." Astoria joked and smiled, but Harry didn't return the gesture. "Are you okay? You look tired, well, more than usual."

Green eyes met blue and, ignoring the question he'd been posed, he replied with one of his own. "Why do you do it?"

"I'm sorry?" She blinked a few times, confused.

"Why do you stay with him? Why do you tolerate me, accept me, when you've known about my relationship with Draco almost from the start?"

She sighed with a smile. "I wondered if you'd ever ask, or just accept it." She commented, sipping her coffee. "I suppose it's highly unusual. I'm certain your late wife would be a little more radical about the issue?"

"Yeah." He smiled sadly. It still hurt him to know she died living a lie. "I'd be lucky if she just kicked me out under a shower of shouts and insults. Maybe with the occasional hitting me with my suitcase or something."

The image made Astoria giggle, and the brunet relaxed a little.

"I love him." She said after a moment, and he just waited in silence for her to continue. "I just have to look at the two of you together, and I know I could never compete with what you have. It's beautiful, and inspiring, and in my case, one-sided. I could never make him as happy as you can, but there are certain things I can provide him that you can't." She let her eyes wander down to the table, where she was distractedly playing with her now empty coffee cup. "Scorpius, for example, even though you gave him our other three wonderful children. I give him the image of a traditional family, and that's important for the business. And I keep him company, and help him with things he can't do alone, like maintaining a healthy social life. In exchange, I get to spend my life beside the person I love most." She smiled gently at him, and he recognized the shadow of sadness which undoubtedly came from knowing she'd only ever have part of him. "And he does love me, even if it's not the same way I love him." She continued after a few moments. "So I'd rather share him, even because being with you makes him so happy, than live a life deprived of him."

Harry felt a pang of guilt for his selfish request the night before, and only nodded in reply. They finished eating in silence and Harry returned to Grimmauld Place with more than enough in his mind to ruminate for hours.

* * *

"How much is it worth compromising to be with someone?" Harry asked quietly, distractedly pushing the wheelchair around the green yard.

"Ah, so he's not willing to leave his wife to be with you?"

The brunet smiled sadly and shook his head. "It's unfair of me to ask, really, especially when his wife is willing to share if it means keeping part of him."

"She knows about you?" Mr. Moore asked with a raised eyebrow, and the younger man nodded. "You're in a really messed up relationship, aren't you?" He smiled and Harry giggled. "You're the only one who can tell what you're willing to sacrifice, son." He continued, his tone serious. "But maybe you should consider... What do you kids call it?" He thought for a moment, and the brunet waited patiently. "Taking a break from your relationship. You know what it's like being together, and what you have to sacrifice for that. Try finding out the cost of _not_ being together; it might be less than you imagine."

"Yeah, maybe." He agreed quietly, and they finished the walk in silence.

Maybe Mr. Moore is right, Harry thought as he walked home, later that same day. There was still over a month before the children returned from Hogwarts - when he'd be forced to be around Draco if he wanted to see his kids -, and he could use the time to meet other people, and see what life could be like having the blond only as a friend.

Even if the mere thought made him shudder and crave the touch of alabaster skin against his naked body.

* * *

Decided to put his plan to action, the next Friday Harry found himself going from his wardrobe to the full-size mirror behind the door for nearly an hour before settling on an outfit, and another twenty minutes trying to do something with his ever-rebellious hair, just to conclude yet again that it stayed the way it wanted to, and nobody could do a thing about it. Sighing, he made sure he had everything he'd need on him and left through the front door.

He wasn't sure where people his age hung out nowadays - the last time he'd been out to meet people, he'd been in his early 20s -, but opted for a night club just the same, hoping he wouldn't be too out of place. Perhaps somewhere they actually played music, instead of the same electronic beat put on loop. If anything, he'd know where not to go next.

It took a little walking around the club district - and Harry was surprised at the variety of specialties the clubs offered - before he found one that pleased him. There was only a short line at the door, and the average age of those waiting to get in was mid-30s, which made him feel a lot more confident. That wasn't much of an age difference, and hopefully he'd mingle right in.

As opposite to what he remembered, the inside of the club wasn't covered in smoke, with the air damp and heavy from overcrowding and sweaty people on the dance floor; there were some couples dancing to a slower pace, others sitting at the many tables around the room, and a small bar on a corner, where Harry quickly found a stool from where to watch the action and the people.

He was only halfway through his first beer when a tall brunette approached him with a large smile and tried to chat him up, but five minutes were all it took for him to identify her as the superfluous kind, after a rich guy to support her, and he was having none of it. Claiming he needed to use the restroom, he slipped away from her, and spent the next several minutes avoiding her until she lost interest.

After that, he got to spend a healthy amount of time observing the scene, glad to be just another stranger in the middle of the muggles. The longer he spent in that world, the more alluring the anonymity seemed, and he caught himself wondering if he should renounce the wizarding world completely.

Another two women like the first later, a light headache started forming, and his eyes got heavy. He wasn't used to staying up late anymore, and it was starting to take its toll on him. Just as he considered calling it a night, a short woman with jet black hair cut short and a navy dress cut even shorter approached him.

She offered to buy him a drink, and they soon engaged in conversation, which as usual took a little creativity from Harry, but by now it was an exercise he was used to and had learned to enjoy. They spent just under an hour talking before she persuaded him to the dance floor, and they moved along with the soft ballads playing on the background for a while. As they fell quiet, enjoying the beat, he started wondering if he was expected to invite her to his place, and how impractical that would be; Grimmauld Place was an intrinsically magical house. And what should he do if she invited him over?

At that thought, he realized that, while he'd enjoyed her company and conversation, he wasn't interested in doing anything remotely sexual with her. He'd like to keep her as a friend, but clueless as he was about these matters, he knew she wouldn't appreciate it, especially after he'd spent the night putting his rusty flirtatious skills to use. So he began considering ways of letting her down as gently as he could, but nothing he came up with seemed any better than the last thought.

When the fifth or sixth song ended, he felt before he saw her taking a half-step back, and as her lips touched his, he knew beyond doubt he wasn't attracted to her. He parted the kiss as gently as he could, and she looked at him with some confusion, which grew when he took a full step back and pulled his arms away from her.

Babbling an excuse, he made his way to the exit, but not before she made sure he had his number so they could hook up some other time. Harry smiled embarrassedly when she dashed the number down on his palm, and waved briefly as he walked away. The air outside the club was cooler than inside, but with summer quickly approaching, it wasn't nearly as cold as the brunet had hoped for.

He had to walk a couple of blocks before finding a taxi, and took a quick shower before going to bed and crashing almost immediately, all the while wondering if it wasn't maybe too soon to meet new people.

* * *

_Harry nodded at the doorman with a smile, entering the crowded and warm room, music blaring loudly on his ears. It wasn't his first time at the muggle club, and he headed straight to the bar area, from where he usually spent most of the night watching the mass of bodies move on the dance floor, rarely joining them._

_The first half hour was spent between him and his couple of beers (which weren't as tasty as Butterbeer, but he found it to be an acquired taste), before a young, smiling man approached him and stretched out a hand in silent invitation. Needing some physicality to release the tension generated in his latest argument with Ginny, he accepted the invitation and lost himself in the beat, moving against faceless others until he was panting and his body was begging for hydration._

_ Excusing himself to his dance partner, he made his way back to the bar and ordered a bottle of water, of which he drowned half at one go before even looking around. When he finally did, a head with hair so light it glowed in the dark caught his eyes. Raising an eyebrow, he pondered whether or not to approach the man while he finished his drink._

_It took a few tries to cover the twenty feet or so which separated them, with too many people moving in different directions, but eventually he reached the blond who hadn't yet noticed his presence._

_"Can I buy you a drink?" He asked close to Draco's ear, making the other man jump in place._

_Once he recovered of the scare, he turned to Harry with a smirk. "I should've figured you'd show up when I'm trying to be away from our world, Potter."_

_The brunet laughed and turned to the bar, to get the bartender's attention. "What are you drinking?" He said loudly over the music while he waited to be served._

_"You're seriously buying me a drink, Potter?"_

_"I'd take advantage of it while the offer still stands, if I were you." He smiled. " So, what is it?"_

_Draco stared at him for another moment before making up his mind. "I don't know. Something with a strange name muggles seem to love."_

_"Two of whatever he's having." He told the bartender, who nodded and placed two clean glasses on the counter, pouring a clear liquid on them. Harry thanked him and paid for the drinks before taking a sip. "Vodka?" He asked, making a face._

_"What, too strong for you, Potter?" The blond mocked._

_"I just wasn't expecting it." He replied defensively, making the other laugh. "Anyway, I never thought I'd find you in a muggle club, let alone one like this."_

_"Likewise, Potter. Shouldn't you be with the Weasley girl living happily ever after?"_

_"Shouldn't you be with that Slytherin girl, what's her name?"_

_"Astoria. And touché."_

_Harry laughed. "We don't talk about it, then."_

_"We don't talk at all, how's that?"_

_"Oh, come on, I bought you a drink." He pleaded mockingly, gaining a roll of eyes in return. "You look like you need to relax, Malfoy."_

_"Why would you think you'd know what I need, Potter?"_

_"Case in point." He replied with a smile. "Come on. Let's have some fun." He nodded towards the dance floor, drinking the last of his vodka._

_"You're joking, Potter." He replied with a scowl._

_"No, seriously. Come on. Just for a while, let's pretend we're not ourselves. We're just two guys at a club trying to have a good time."_

_"I don't think so."_

_Maybe it was the alcohol, or the music, or the place, or the way the moon was shining and the planets aligned, but suddenly Harry really wanted to dance with the blond and wouldn't take no for an answer._

_"Don't be a bore, Malfoy." He replied, grabbing the man by the arm. "Play along."_

_"Unhand me, Potter." He ordered, but everything from his body language to his tone said he didn't mean it as much as he wanted to. Harry just smiled and tugged at the blond. "It had to be you to wreck with my night, didn't it, Potter?" He complained, drowning the last of his drink and standing up._

_They remained on the edge of the dance floor, and Draco stood perfectly still watching the brunet move. It took Harry a few moments to realize he was dancing alone and, rolling his eyes, he pulled the blond closer._

_"It's all about the hips, Malfoy." He said over the music, placing his hands on each side of Draco's hips and pushing from side to side._

_The blond was baffled by Harry's boldness, and couldn't decide if he should push him away, yell at him, or simply hex him. Before he could make up his mind, people dancing behind him pushed him against the brunet, and he couldn't help moving along to the beat, and they were dancing together._

_And it was with shock that he realized it wasn't nearly as bad as he'd imagined._

_The longer they danced together, the bolder they got, rubbing up against each other, looking into each other's eyes, daring the other to move closer. So it was a natural consequence of their game that their lips would eventually meet in a lustful kiss, hungry for each other. Suddenly they were just standing on the dance floor, lip-locked and with hands exploring and pulling their bodies closer._

_A minute passed, then another, and another._

_When they finally came up for air, their eyes met, green and silver darkened with desire. Harry was about to make a move to get back into the action when the blond turned around and started marching towards the exit. Confused, Harry followed, fighting the mass of people standing on the way._

_"Malfoy!" He called as soon as the chill air hit his face._

_A cracking sound was the only response he got, and just like that Draco was gone._

* * *

Harry sat up with the sound of his voice calling out for the blond still echoing in the silent room and sighed. He hadn't thought of that day in a long time, and just like in the dream, Draco had left without an explanation. And he'd been left behind confused and wanting more.

So much for taking a break from him, Harry thought annoyed, letting himself fall back on the pillow, eyes on the ceiling. Now he was awake, it didn't seem he'd be falling back asleep any time soon, and judging by the color of the sky, he still had a long time to lie there alone with his thoughts.

He tried to avoid it for maybe ten or fifteen minutes, but his mind stubbornly always returned to Draco. Until very recently, he didn't spend long pondering over their relationship, for any number of reasons, but now he felt very much at a fork in the road: one way meant he bowed down to the blond's demands and they remained lovers, but never partners; the other meant they'd never be more than friends, but gave him the opportunity to find someone who'd be entirely his. He couldn't help feeling somewhat hypocritical, considering he'd put his wife in the same position, even if she didn't know about it, and was perfectly happy having both.

Thinking back, it was really strange the way he and Draco had gone from school enemies to being on opposite sides in the war, to being on the same side, to becoming friends and lovers. More than that, when he finally connected with the blond a few years after the war, he felt complete like Ginny could never make him, as if his life had been nothing but a big plan culminating in that moment. Which sounded silly and egocentric even to his ears, yet the feeling remained. The expression "soul-mates" never sounded so appropriate.

After the day they met by chance in Battersea Park, Harry felt drawn to the place, hoping they'd meet again. Without the weight of the war and the destiny of the Wizarding world on their shoulders, he'd managed not only to have civilized conversations with Draco, but to actually reach some friendly stage in their relationship. The blond seemed beat by all that had fallen on his lap, and clearly found teasing his old nemesis a waste of effort; Harry was fed up with being a celebrity and having everyone tell him what to do and how to feel, when they didn't really understand what it was like to be him. And with their defenses down, the two men found in each other a confident, someone with whom they could be completely honest without a care for feelings or images. They'd seen the worst of each other, and they didn't have feelings for each other. They had nothing to lose.

At first, they met every couple of weeks, always sitting on opposite ends of the park bench and hardly ever looking at each other. Harry learned about the pressure of growing up with as a Malfoy, and being one after the fall of the Dark Lord, and it wasn't that different from being the Golden Boy. Granted, one was technically positive and the other negative, but just the same it meant people saw in them a character created by the media, and felt entitled to judge and interfere in their lives.

It was very strange, the first time the brunet stepped into the Malfoy manor, this time as a guest, not a prisoner. He couldn't help seeing the ghosts of what had happened, and Draco confessed he didn't use the parts of the house which composed the Dark Lord's headquarters if he could help it. He met Astoria later that day, when they all had tea together, and she was impeccable as a host.

Thinking back, there were signs back then, already.

Like the way the two of them shared a couch instead of each taking an armchair.

Or how often green was locked with silver, and the constant smiles they shared.

By then, the blond was already one of the first people to come to Harry's mind when anything happened, even though he didn't go Draco first.

It was around that time too that he and Ginny started arguing, partially because he wanted to keep his new friendship a secret and it'd begun consuming increasing amounts of his relatively scarce free time, partially because they'd started living together, and were having trouble adjusting to each other and getting past pet peeves.

Harry begun frequenting muggle clubs to get away not only from her but the harassment he couldn't escape in the Wizarding world, and moved on to gay clubs when he realized men were a great deal less annoying than women, especially when he told them he just wanted to dance and have fun, but not actually _do_ anything with them. And he'd always been interested in the male form, and soon realized it was actually attraction, which only increased the appeal of such places. Plus, the music was so much better.

And then came the day he found Draco at one of those clubs, and it was really the first time he cheated on the redhead.

The kiss that rocked his world.

Draco had done a splendid job of avoiding him after that, until the day Astoria was the one to answer the fireplace and let him in. He was taken to the blond's office, and though he felt extremely uncomfortable walking side-by-side with the woman as if he didn't spend unreasonable amounts of time fantasizing about her then fiancé, they finally reached their destination and she closed the door behind him.

A thick, wooden door which muffled most, if not all, sound in and out the room.

The forced meeting ended up being explosive, with clothes adorning various furniture items around the room and two naked bodies trying to catch their breaths, sprawled on the rug.

In retrospect, they never really discussed what they were doing, or what they were to each other. At first it was mostly physical, and after the children were born, the visits became marginally more chaste, and conversation became a constant over babysitting duties. At some point, Astoria became aware of the shift in their relationship, and though they were discreet around the little ones, they behaved freely around her.

With both of them eager to stay out of the papers, keeping the relationship in a strictly need-to-know basis seemed a given, and perhaps that would've gone on for years, had destiny not chosen to interfere.

Fine, Death Eaters, but the results were the same.

And now here he was, having to choose between having to share Draco and keep their relationship secretive for the rest of their lives, or live without him. There didn't seem to be any other reasonable alternative, and both were equally heartbreaking.

Harry played at doing a mental pros-and-cons list for a while, but didn't reach any conclusions. It was all too much, too intense, and he hadn't even begun to consider the impact said relationship could have on the already fragile state of matters between him and his offspring.

It was only as the first rays of sunshine entered the room that he finally fell into a restless sleep.


	12. Chapter 12

CHAPTER TWELVE

Harry spent the weekend manually cleaning every corner of the house, hoping the physical effort would help clear his mind, knowing it wouldn't make much difference. He couldn't decide whether or not to continue his Draco-abstinence regime, as his days seemed terribly empty without the blond; yet, at the same time, he knew well what he'd have to give up to be with him, and it seemed only reasonable to find out the extent of the sacrifice of being on his own.

He wasn't quite ready to discuss his failed experiment, but as Monday rose and he left for the foundation, he found himself eager to talk about life with Mr. Moore again. As such, he was disappointed - and worried, of course - to find the flu which had gotten the old veteran had turned into pneumonia, at which point he was taken to the hospital, where he was expected to stay for the remainder of the week.

Sure, he always had pleasant conversations with all the veterans, but he'd developed a special bond with Mr. Moore. He felt the old man was the father figure he'd longed for most of his life and had so often lost. Someone more experienced in life matters with whom he could talk freely and be advised on the matters pressing his mind without the burden of his name to weigh down the relationship.

When the weekend came around again, he decided to give clubs another try, this time choosing one aimed almost exclusively at the male audience. It was a lot more like he remembered clubs being, with loud music, an excess of half-dressed people dancing close together, and a more varied public age-wise than he'd anticipated.

This time it was easy to lose himself in the music, and he wasn't the only one interested exclusively in dancing. Despite being hit on by some particularly attractive men, he still didn't feel ready to engage with anyone, and politely declined them.

They were far more accepting than the ladies had been the week before.

Dawn was breaking by the time Harry walked through his front door, and a quick shower to wash away the sweat was all he had energy for before crashing on his bed, exhausted but satisfied.

Over the next couple of weeks, he found other ways to entertain himself, and though he often wished he could share the experiences with Draco, he was surprised to learn he could enjoy himself freely without needing anyone else's company. He was just falling into a routine when June came to an end and it was time for the kids to come home.

Even if it wasn't his home.

* * *

Harry was unsure how to go about things, be it with the kids who didn't want his company, be it with Draco, to whom he hadn't talked in over a month. But he didn't have to ponder over the matter for long, because the day the day after the Hogwarts Express arrived in London, he received a formal invitation to have dinner at the manor the upcoming weekend.

"Harry. It's been a long time." Astoria said with a smile as he stepped out of the fireplace. "How have you been?"

"Good, thanks." He smiled and the two started towards the dining room. "And you?"

"Oh, a bit busy, but just fine."

The brunet hesitated for a moment. "And Draco?"

"Very busy." She smiled at him. "He's been working a lot more lately. But otherwise he's fine."

"That's, er... That's good." He replied, his cheeks acquiring a faint shade of pink. He glanced sideways at her, and for a moment he was under the impression she wanted to say something else, but then they arrived in the room already occupied by the rest of the house residents, and she dropped it.

Whatever was being said prior to their arrival was interrupted as five sets of eyes turned to the brunet, and he stood still at the doorway for a few moments, uncomfortable, before being ushered to take a seat.

"Hello, Potter." Draco said with excessive politesse, his eyes meeting Harry's for only a moment before being averted to his plate.

"Hi, Draco." He replied quietly before sitting down and looking around the table. "Hey guys."

He still struggled to accept James's hair, but looking past it, even though he didn't know them very well, he was still able to notice the changes a semester had made: the oldest boy had grown another two inches, maybe three; Scorpius was also taller, and unlike it had always been between him and Draco, Albus didn't seem to be keeping up; and Lily was beginning to catch up height-wise, and look more like a teenager than a child, not the least because of her new haircut, longer and more serious than he remembered.

Conversation was tense for most of the meal, never veering away from the standard topics, school, work, Quidditch. James was still clearly mad at him, keeping his eyes on his food most of the time, but the months away seemed to have warmed the others to him, even of only marginally.

It was clear they were making an effort to be actively nice to him, rather than strictly polite, especially Lily, whose extensive reading provided her with plenty of ammunition for interesting conversations, even if she'd rather discuss whatever it was with Draco and Astoria rather than Harry. Still, the brunet was weirdly hopeful and satisfied when he returned home at the end of the night.

And when he received a letter from his youngest child later that week, he thought his heart might burst with joy.

The little redhead was evidently hesitant to get in touch with him, which made him sad and guilty, and stressed more than enough times that it was only a suggestion and he shouldn't feel obligated at all to comply, but asked him, should he have the time to spare, to help her practice for the Quidditch tryouts come September. She knew the boys would help all throughout summer, still she felt maybe a different perspective might be beneficial.

It only took Harry a split second to make up his mind, and though he couldn't help wondering if the idea had really come from Lily or from her parents, he immediately dashed down a note agreeing and asking about her weekend plans so they could schedule their training sessions.

Once again Harry would be at the manor on a weekly basis.

The first session was awkward for both of them, all the more so because all the boys refused to take part. Much like her biological parents, Draco, and Scorpius, she wanted to be a seeker, making Harry's knowledge and expertise all the more valuable. They went through a series of exercises he used to do back in the day, before repeatedly performing the most common moves - feigns, dives and the such - in order to perfect them, and concluding with a long session competing for the practice Snitch. By the end, they were both beat but smiling from ear to ear, and that alone was enough to make the brunet want to return the following week.

Though he was invited to stay for dinner, not wanting to impose, he declined and returned to Grimmauld Place, still replaying the hours he spent in company of his daughter. It was only after he was home that he started thinking about Ginny, who could've just as easily been the one he was practicing with, and what had been a near-perfect day ended in a helplessly sad note.

* * *

"So, how was it?" James asked his little sister, leaning sideways against the door frame.

"Fine. Fun. He's alright, you know."

The blond made a face, walking in and taking a seat by the bed. "Why are you doing this?"

"Ravenclaw's taking the Cup this year." She replied with a confident smile, and he laughed. "I thought mom and dad would like me to give him a chance." She continued with a shrug.

"So you're doing this for mom and dad, then?"

"I thought so, but I think I kinda like him. He's really trying, and you can't blame him for that."

"He doesn't have the right to try. He abandoned us, Lily."

The girl sighed at the repeated argument. "I know that's how it feels like to you, Jamie. Merlin knows you've said it enough times. But I don't feel that way. I have no memory of him; he's just this guy I happen to be related to and who wants to get to know me, now that he can. And I'm okay with that."

They sustained the look for a long time, but he didn't reply. He respected his sister's right to have her own opinions, but it seemed so clear to him how poisonous Harry was to their family that letting him in, little as it might be, was unthinkable.

"I don't like him, Lil. Be careful." He said at last, getting up to leave.

"You might, if you gave him a chance." She said, watching his back disappear out the door.

* * *

When Harry returned the following week, Lily was eagerly waiting for him by the fireplace, dressed for practice and bouncing on the balls of her feet. They followed in silence to the backyard, and after a quick warm up, they moved on to the exercises which would become routine for them.

Towards the end of practice, Harry noticed Albus and Scorpius watching them from the ground and, after the distraction cost him the snitch, he flew over and invited the boys to join them. They looked at each other for a few moments before simultaneously declining, and Harry returned to the girl with a shrug. They were around and that was progress.

Some progress indeed, he'd discover the following week when Scorpius, under Albus's watchful eye, decided to join them, and the new dynamics allowed for some new exercises to vary what was quickly becoming their routine. And the week after that, there were four people on brooms on Saturday afternoons in the manor.

When he was done trying to be polite, dinner with the Malfoys entered his routine as well, and time dissipated the tension among them noticeably. By the end of the month, Harry could already consider himself a _family_ friend, and the three youngest didn't oppose to spending time with him - provided, of course, that it wasn't time the redhead reserved for her books or the boys for... whatever it was that consumed most of their time. He wasn't a parental figure to them - and the longer he spent with them, the stronger was the feeling he never would be - that they'd never want him to be -, but he was perhaps the cool uncle, and it was a title he could live with.

Only James didn't seem willing to give him a chance, and though he understood and respected it, it still made him infinitely sad, and he wondered if there was anything he could do to get through to him. If the boy would ever let him.

Things between him and Draco, on the other hand, only got more critical as time went by. Somehow, the tension remained in manageable levels around the children, and they never allowed conversation to last after the meal was over, but during the few moments they were alone - usually when the host walked his guest to the fireplace, or they waited for the children to get cleaned up for dinner -, the sparkles were almost visible. They daren't exchange too many words, or stay too close together - and anything less than several feet was too close -, for fear of losing control.

Every time green eyes rested on the blond, Harry wanted desperately to pull him closer, never to let go again. Take his mouth passionately, claim his body, his mind, his heart for himself and no one else. To put his pride aside, and apologize, and whisper all the romantic and clichéd and borderline pathetic things he could think of, and promise he'd be his forever. And then Astoria would walk in, or something else would distract them, and his fantasies would be dispelled and be substituted by the harsh reality of their choices, their lives.

And he would want to run away and never look back, to find out just how many miles were necessary to make the pain subside, how many years and how many people.

But he'd stay, and put himself through that torture every week, for his children, and for himself, and for those rare moments Draco let his guard down and he'd see the hurricane of feelings reflected in the silver eyes.

Two weeks away from the kids' return to school, the blond man organized to take them all to the Quidditch World Cup match happening in Wales, and invited Harry along. Though the brunet wondered about the other man's motives, the proposition was tempting, and maybe that would be the push his relationship with James needed.

And that was how he found himself helping Draco set up three tents on the camping site set up for those attending the game, as it was scheduled to start at 8pm and would probably end late at night. James was the only one of the four who'd brought friends along (who'd been a little star-struck to meet Harry, much to the boy's dismay), and seemed more than glad to have legitimate excuses not to interact with the brunet.

They'd arrived a few hours ahead and, once they were set up, all kids but Lily were off to explore and look at the souvenirs being sold to tourists, and the three adults found themselves sitting together in uncomfortable silence, around the small bonfire they got started.

"How's your work going, Harry?" Astoria asked as she did every week over dinner.

"Fine. One of the guys suggested I get some muggle certificate so they can hire me properly."

"Oh, that's interesting. Are you considering it?"

"I don't know. It's true they're always short of staff, but they need the money more than me." He smiled at her. "And I don't fancy the idea of going back to school." He added as an afterthought.

She nodded with a smile and they fell quiet again.

"How's business going?" The brunet asked after several minutes.

"Well, as expected." Came the brief reply.

"Maybe I should get dinner started?" Astoria suggested, getting up.

"I'll help you." Harry offered, jumping up and following her into one of the tents.

They worked in silence for a while, the brunet mostly helping to wash and chop the ingredients than really cooking.

"I didn't know you could cook." He commented, and they smiled at each other.

"I always liked the idea of turning simple ingredients into complex dishes. It's probably why I did well in Potions." She smiled, looking over her shoulder at him for a moment before turning back around. "The elves do most of the cooking now, but I like to get my hands dirty on occasion."

"I did some basic cooking for the Dursleys, but I was never any good. And was almost disastrous at Potions." They laughed before falling back into silence.

"You know, Harry," she started a few minutes later, "whatever happened between you and Draco won't get solved unless you talk. I don't know what it was, but I can see the toll it's taking on both of you, and it's terrible to witness."

He nodded and pondered over the reply for a while. "I'm sorry the burden is falling onto you, I never meant for it to happen." He said at last.

She shook her head with a smile, turning around to face him. "Don't worry about it. It's just not healthy for either of you, that's why I worry."

"The truth is, even if we tried to talk, I wouldn't know what to say, everything feels like the wrong thing, and I can't even organize my thoughts, let alone voice them."

"Maybe you should try nonetheless. I'm sure he's going though the same dilemmas, and it just might be that you have the same things in mind."

He nodded. "Thanks. Maybe I will."

She smiled at him and they finished dinner in silence.

Elated with the excitement over the game, all children stayed up late, and Harry only had a chance to approach Draco very late at night, when the two of them were left alone watching the bonfire. The night was warm, with the slightest breeze, and finally most of the people around had gone to bed, leaving the crackling of the fire and the distant sound of voices the only sounds to disturb them.

For several minutes, Harry would look at Draco, wondering how to approach him, what to say, just to lose his nerve and give up on the idea. Then he'd think another chance like it might not appear for a long time, and if he didn't say anything soon, the blond too would go to bed, and he'd miss his opportunity. Which would lead him right to the beginning of his problem.

"Just say it, Potter. Whatever it is. It's extremely annoying to have you staring at me like that." Draco complained eventually, and the other man could feel his cheeks reddening.

"I'm not sure what to say." He admitted after a few beats.

"You were never any good with words anyway. Or thinking, either." He mocked, but didn't even smile at his own remark, keeping his eyes focused on the dancing flames.

"Yeah, well." Harry agreed before taking a few long breaths to buy himself some time. "The truth is, I can't decide what to choose. I want to be with you desperately, and it's been killing me to stay away. But I can't imagine having to share you with anyone else, I don't think I can do it again."

"You know my terms, Potter." He replied quietly.

"Yeah, but that's all very easy for you, isn't it? You get to dictate the terms and may the others conform to them. It's like you're not willing to compromise anything to make this work, that I have to be the only one to sacrifice so you can have everything."

"It's not true. I've put much more into this relationship than you know, but I just can't do what you're asking me to. I won't leave my family to be in an exclusive relationship with you, and if the price to pay for that is losing you, it's a price I'm willing to pay."

"So how can you ask me to compromise so much of my own life when you're clearly not willing to do the same?" He asked, frustrated, running a hand through his hair.

"Don't you think this is easy for me either, Potter. Being away from you is one of the hardest things I've ever been through, and being around you and not being allowed to _be_ with you is ten, a hundred, a thousand times worst. But if enduring that pain is what it takes to see you at all, even if only from a distance, then I'm willing to soldier on and be your friend. So don't say I'm not invested in this, and that I don't make sacrifices, because I do."

"It also kills me to be away from you. Why can't we just be together, then?"

"Don't go there again. I won't give up my family for you, and don't say you'd do it for me, because you know you wouldn't. If you still had Weasley and the kids, you'd do whatever it took to keep them, even give me up."

"No, I wouldn't." He mumbled quietly, but a voice in his head reminded him that he would never know for sure.

"Yeah, you would. Actually, you probably wouldn't even have time to think about such nonsense, and things would be just as they were."

"But they can't be like they were. We've both changed, and the circumstances have changed."

"Yes, and my circumstances won't allow me to be your little boyfriend, Potter."

They remained in silence for several minutes, the dying fire in front of them growing quieter. Both men kept their eyes on the ground, and when the air became too suffocating for them to stand it, Draco got up and put out the bonfire with a silent spell. The brunet was surprise to be suddenly in the dark, and looked up to the other man.

"I'm going to bed." He announced casually and turned to leave, just to be held back by the arm.

Feeling suddenly brave at the other man's words, Harry had gotten up to stop him from leaving, and before he had the chance to think it through, he'd pulled the blond strongly against himself, their lips meeting as if they'd never parted in the first place, their tongues rediscovering the mouths they already knew so well.

The kiss was tainted with desperation, too eager and too rough, the kind of kiss that usually puts people off and can even determine the fate of a relationship, but for them, none of it mattered. The need for each other was the same, and they wanted to take as much as they could in case it turned out to be their last.

When they emerged again a few minutes later, they were both panting hard and their eyes, darkened with lust, met for only a second before their lips followed. Maybe they would've stayed there all night consuming each other, maybe they would've gotten into another argument, or maybe they would've simply parted and each gone his own way, but they would never find out as they were very unceremoniously interrupted.

"So that's why you want us to be close to him? So you can fuck him without anyone suspecting it?"

"James!" They both exclaimed, though in very different tones, turning to the blond boy.

"I knew he was trouble, I always knew it. And now he's gonna tear our family apart, like he hasn't done enough damage already." He continued bitterly, his hands clenched into fists on his sides.

"It's not like that, James." Harry hurriedly tried to explain, gaining himself a very angry look. "I'm not breaking anyone up, you don't have to worry about it. Draco wouldn't leave his wife, not for me." He couldn't help the bitter tone that permeated his last words.

"Not now, Potter." The blond man whispered angrily. "Nobody is breaking up with anybody, Jamie. We're still a family, your family, and will always be."

"So what, you're just gonna cheat on mom like that? Don't expect me to keep your secret, 'cause I won't."

"I'm not cheating on her."

"No?" His eyebrow rose in mockery. "What do you call this, then? A friendly time which just happens to involve you sticking your tongue down his throat?"

"James!" Draco said loudly, angry. "You will cease to use that language immediately, you hear me, young man?"

The boy shrugged. "I'm just calling as I see it."

"Look, it's, er, it's more complicated than that, James." The brunet interfered, sounding noticeably calmer than the other two. "And I know it must be a shock to you, but I promise you nothing will change in your life. You mom and dad will still be together, and you'll still be a family."

"Like you're one to talk." He smirked. "You just showed up in our lives one day causing havoc, but surely a few nice words will be enough to make everything right again, won't it?"

"Don't you talk to him like that, James." Draco said in a warning tone.

"Whatever. You know what, I won't care anymore. Do whatever you want." He said angrily, turning to Harry. "But stay the hell out of my life." He threatened the brunet before turning around and walking towards his tent.

"James! Get back here at once!" The blond man called out, but was ignored. "James!"

"Leave him, Draco. Give him some time."

"His behavior was inadmissible, Harry." He replied, tired, sitting back down with a sigh.

"It must've been quite a shock to him to see us like that. I'm sure you can excuse his behavior." The brunet said with a weak smile, resting one hand on the other man's shoulder.

"I suppose." He mumbled, and rubbed his eyes with the heels of his hands. "What are we going to do now?"

"We hadn't sorted that out even before that little interruption." Harry joked weakly, but the blond didn't bulge. "I don't know. Maybe I should stay away for a while." He said with a shrug.

Draco shook his head. "He doesn't have the right to keep you away from the others too, just because he doesn't like you."

"Well, it's just two days anyway, and then they're off to school again. I'll miss them, of course, but you need to make things right between you without me around to complicate things."

"Maybe we can work something out between us after they leave."

"Yeah, maybe." Harry smiled, and this time the blond corresponded. "Come on. Off to bed with you, we have a lot to do in the morning." Draco raised an eyebrow. "Oh, get over yourself. I'm not sleeping with you, not after that. You go to your bed and I'll go to mine."

"I never thought I'd hear you say that, Potter." He joked, accepting the hand the other was offering to help him stand.

"Good night, Malfoy." Harry said with a smile, disappearing into the tent.

" 'Night, Potter." Draco replied quietly, eyes fixed where the other man had been seconds ago. Moments later, he followed, but sleep didn't come easy that night. Or at all.


	13. Final Chapter

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

"Why isn't Harry coming this week?" Lily asked, frowning. It was Friday night and they were all having dinner together, the brunet's absence the following day having just been disclosed.

"He's busy with his work, sweetie." Astoria explained, and James sneered.

"Is there a problem, James?" Draco asked impatiently.

The boy had spent most of the time since they'd been back locked in his room, and when they were around each other, the teenager did all possible to avoid saying more than he absolutely had to.

"No, not at all. I just think it's curious he'd let _work_ keep him from coming and spending time with his long lost children." He replied mockingly.

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"Ah, you know, he was so eager to... what's the word he used? Reconnect with us that he even moved in, so it's a little ironic he'd let something like work get in the way now he's finally spending time with them. Unless, of course, we weren't the reason he moved in on the first place."

"James..." Draco warned, and the boy displicently put a forkful in his mouth.

"Why else would he live here when he has his own place?" Albus asked with a frown.

"Oh, I don't know." The blond teenager replied with a smile. "Do you have any ideas, dad?"

"That is quite enough of that, James. If-"

"What do you know that we don't?" Scorpius interrupted his father, who shot him a reproving look and was met with an apologetic shrug.

James just smiled, and it was evident from his expression he was concealing information. Before he could say anything else, the redhead demanded, "What did you do this time, James?"

His expression changed, and he looked angrily at the girl. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"I think you do. It's your fault he isn't coming, isn't it? You never wanted him around in the first place, and you finally managed to scare him away."

"Lily, please-"

"_I_ didn't do anything, Lily. He did. And I'm more than glad he's not coming, he's done more than enough for us already."

"What could've he had done? Offered to play Quidditch with you? Go shopping? No, you hated him since he came back, and you couldn't accept that Albus and Scorpius and I became his friends-"

"Enough." Draco said just loud enough to be heard, his controlled anger tainting his tone. James and Lily looked at him wide-eyed, and the other two teenagers looked down to their own plates. "I won't have the two of you throwing accusations at each other, least of all during a family meal. Lily, regardless of the reason, the fact is Potter isn't coming tomorrow, and probably won't come next week either. James, I understand you're angry, but your behavior is unacceptable, and you have no right to take your feelings out on your siblings. If you want to talk about it, we can talk later and in private. Now, if you're not going to be pleasant to each other, we can finish out meal in silence."

And in silence they remained until the three youngest were excused.

"Do you want to talk about what's bothering you, James?" Draco offered calmly, and the boy shot a glance at Astoria before looking back at the blond man, without replying. "Say what you need to say, Jamie." He continued with a sigh.

The boy looked from one adult to the other a few times. He knew he was about to break his mother's heart, but she had the right to know. And he wasn't willing to keep the secret just to protect his dad. Not this time, not this secret.

"He cheated on you." He said quietly, looking down. When no reply came, he turned his eyes to the blonde woman, who just nodded understandingly. "Why aren't you angry?" He asked, equally frustrated and perplexed.

"I believe that's between your father and me, Jamie."

"But... He cheated on you! I saw him kissing Harry, and I'm willing to bet it wasn't the first time!"

She calmly nodded again. "I'm sorry you had to keep that secret, Jamie." She said with a smile, reaching out one hand to hold his, caressing it with her thumb. "I'm sure it must've been very hard for you, and I'm glad you decided to be honest with me. I know you're trying to protect me, and I appreciate it, but you don't have to. This is between your dad and me, and I promise you that is the only relationship it will affect."

"No, it's not. If he breaks you up, it'll affect all of us. Before he came, we were perfectly happy. Now you two might split up, and we spend half the time angry at each other and fighting. Fine, so maybe his cheating is only about the two of you, but the effect Harry's had on our family is much bigger than that. And I can't understand how you can just let him do that to us, just because three of us share DNA with him."

"I know you resent him, James. I know his coma was harder on you than on the others, but he's not to blame for the friction between you and the rest of the family." Draco replied calmly. "You don't have to like him, but you have to respect that others do, even if you don't understand it. Today, for example, you and Lily fought because you're so angry at Potter you can't accept she enjoys spending time with him. I know you're impulsive, and that you sometimes have trouble controlling your feelings, but you're almost a grown up now, and if you want to take my place one day, and nothing would make me prouder, you need to learn to separate reason and emotion."

"Protecting me is a noble feeling, Jamie, but Lily wasn't the threat. I know it's hard, but you need to learn how to separate the two."

"I know it wasn't her fault." He said quietly. "It's just that it frustrates me how she can't see how much damage he's causing us-"

"We've been there, Jamie. It's all a matter of perspective. You have every right to feel that way, but it doesn't make it the absolute truth." Draco interrupted.

The boy didn't reply, and they stayed quiet for long moments.

"Is there anything else you'd like to talk about?" Astoria asked gently, and James shook his head. "Okay. If you change your mind, you know you can come to us any time, right?" The boy nodded, but didn't say anything. "Very well, then. I think you owe Lily an apology, don't you?"

"Yeah, I know."

"Off you go, then." Draco smiled, and James returned the gesture before leaving. "This is such a mess." He sighed once they were left alone.

"Does that mean you and Harry are back together?" She asked curiously, but he shook his head.

"He's, er... He's made some demands I can't meet, and we're having trouble reaching some middle ground."

"He wants you to be exclusive, doesn't he? Maybe even have you leave me for him?" The blond man raised his eyebrows, and she giggled. "I always thought he was more the romantic kind. More than you, at least." Then she turned serious again. "Are you going to leave me?"

"What? No!" He exclaimed, sounding almost offended by the suggestion, and Astoria's smile was clearly relieved. "I couldn't leave you." He smiled at her, grabbing her hand and placing a soft kiss on her knuckles. "I really do love you, you know."

"That's good." She replied, and watched him in silence for long moments. "Seems you're in big trouble, then."

"Tell me about it."

"I don't know how I can help, but you'll let me know if there's anything I can do for you, won't you?"

"Of course." He smiled at her.

"In that case. I'm off to bed. Good night, dear."

* * *

Harry was sitting with a book in the study, trying to distract his mind from the fact he's much rather be on a broom in company of his children, when came the sound alarm informing him there was an incoming Floo call. As if being contacted at all wasn't surprising enough - after all, the Malfoys were the only ones who knew he was home -, it was none other than his daughter calling and asking to come over.

"Is everything okay?" Was the first thing he asked as she stepped out of the fireplace, and she nodded with a smile.

"I thought you were supposed to be at work." She said with a slight frown.

"I assume that's the reason you were given for my absence today?"

"Yeah."

"I just thought I should stay away for a while. Things are a bit delicate between James and Draco right now, and I don't want to add unnecessary pressure." He replied honestly, forgetting she was barely more than a child.

"So you thought you'd punish the rest of us?"

"No, Lily, not at all!" He said, surprised. "It was never about you. I'm sorry you feel that way."

She shrugged, falling on the couch. "What do you work with, anyway?"

"I volunteer at a foundation for war veterans." He replied, taking his usual seat.

"Do you like it?"

"Yeah, it's really nice. It's a Muggle place, so nobody treats me like a celebrity." She nodded. "I could take you there one day, if you'd like. I'm sure the guys would like someone new to talk to, and with all you read, I'm sure you'd have plenty to talk about."

"Yeah, I'd like that." She smiled at him.

They spent part of the afternoon talking, and the redhead left Grimmauld Place with an armful of books and the promise that, if he wouldn't go to her the next week, she'd come to him.

He was still smiling to himself long after she was gone.

He didn't talk to anyone at the manor during the week, but an idea that popped into his mind Friday night had him Floo-calling his daughter mid-morning on Saturday, inviting her, Albus and Scorpius to spend the day sightseeing in Muggle London. Half an hour later, the four of them left the Leaky Caldron for a day of fun and spoils, with the kids being introduced to many Muggle treats and laughing and being amazed by the ingenuity with which Mugggles found ways to do what Wizards easily managed with a mere flick of their wands.

On the way back, he took them to the Weasley Wizard Wheezes for back-to-school gifts and a healthy dose of sugar at Fortescue's. Admittedly, moving around Diagon Alley was considerably more complicated, but all three children were very understanding, and happy to see the shops they got their belongings from for once, rather than having them delivered to them by the elves.

When Harry fell exhausted in his bed that night, he was more than satisfied with the good memories he'd made during what was probably the last time he'd see them before they went back to school.

As it would turn out, the three youngest would invite him to King's Cross on September 1st, and despite all the attention the brunet gained them, James was the only one in a hurry to disappear into the Hogwarts Express.

And when Harry accepted the Malfoys' invitation to have lunch at the manor, he knew exactly where he'd end up.

"We can't keep doing this." Harry said, still out of breath, lying on his back and with his eyes fixed on the ceiling.

"Why not? I'm under the strong impression that you enjoyed it, or am I wrong?" He smirked, looking sideways.

Almost exasperated green eyes met silver for a few moments.

"We're never going to reach an agreement about this, Potter."

"I know."

"What do you suggest, then?"

"I don't know."

"That settles it, then." The blond mocked.

"Do we really need a formal arrangement?" Harry asked, turning on his side.

"It was your idea. I was perfectly fine with the way things were."

"I guess." He sighed.

When he left the manor hours later, they still hadn't reached a conclusion. And the brunet began wondering if it really was that important after all.

* * *

"Are you okay, Jamie?" Chase asked quietly as they walked back to the Gryffindor Tower.

The blond boy had been uncharacteristically quiet during the ride and all throughout the feast, and now was strategically lagging behind and taking the long way around the castle. Not missing the change in their friend's behavior, Chase, Addison and Julie decided the boy should be the one to approach James, and sooner rather than later.

"Sure, why wouldn't I be?" He replied angrily, without looking at his friend.

"What's wrong?" He asked softly, unaffected by the retort.

"Nothing's wrong." He insisted.

"I beg to differ."

James sighed. "Just some family drama, Chase. Nothing to worry about."

"Your dad?"

The blond stopped on his tracks, turning around to face his friend. "Can't you take a hint, Chase? I don't want to talk about it."

"I can take a hint, and I can ignore it. Avoiding it isn't going to make it go away."

"Apparently it won't make you go away either." The remark gained him a tongue sticking out of the other boy's mouth, and he finally smiled weakly. "It's just complicated. Much more complicated than I thought, and I just need to put my thoughts back in order."

"Maybe I can help if you tell me about it?" He offered, but James shook his head. "If you ever change your mind, you know we're all here for you, right? Whatever it is, it won't stop us from being your friends and we'll make sure nobody else hears about it."

"I know, Chase. Thanks."

They smiled at each other for a moment before starting towards the dorms again.

"So, I've had some ideas for this year..." Chase began, and the other boy was glad for the distraction, even if he didn't absorb more than a fraction of what had been said.

Over the following months, the boy let school and friends and Quidditch distract him from his family issues, and as he hadn't gone into any detail with any of his friends, they quickly forgot all about it. But as the winter came around and the year came to an end, the inevitability of the confrontation with his home life began to put pressure on him again, making him seriously consider staying at the castle during Winter break.

None of the Malfoy children or any of his friends had ever done that, and he quite enjoyed being away from school, but Harry would surely be there and he didn't feel nearly ready to be around the man. Just the thought of him, and especially, as often happened, of him _with _his father, made him insanely mad, and added to the stress of the midterms, had caused a couple bouts of spontaneous magic, which hadn't happened to him since before he entered Hogwarts.

"Do you want us to stay with you?" Addie offered when he told them about his plans.

"No, no, you go ahead and enjoy your holiday. I'll be fine on my own, I'm sure I'll find ways to entertain myself. Maybe even do some reading."

"In that case I better stay with you, to make sure you get proper medical help when you go insane."

"Shut up, Chase." He replied, playfully punching the boy's arm.

"Have you told your parents yet?" Julie pitched in from behind a book.

"No, but I think it'll be okay. They won't be happy about it. but it's not like I'll miss anything. Actually, I'll be spared having to spend time with the Weasleys, which is always awkward and uncomfortable, so I'll be better off."

"It's not like my plans are very exciting either way, you know. I wouldn't mind keeping you company."

"Thanks, Addie, but really, I'll be fine."

They didn't discuss the subject any further, but when the time came for the students to board the train, all four of them stayed behind, and the teenager couldn't help feeling lucky for the friends he had. Especially after the clearly unsatisfied letter he received from home.

The days passes slowly for them, and it took them several days to get used to such a silent castle. They enjoyed the free time to be children again and spend hours playing with the show that fell on Christmas week, and playing tag on their brooms down by the Quidditch Pitch. The professors seemed all to be in good moods and didn't object to having the older students play there.

Christmas morning was spent in the Common Room between opening gifts, eating too much candy, and playing Exploding Snap, and they were all surprised by the special arrangement of the Great Hall. Having helplessly eaten too much, the two girls excused themselves and the boys opted to go for a walk outside. Despite the snow covering the ground, it was a sunny day and as pleasant as it could be in the dead of winter.

"It's really because of Harry, isn't it?" Chase asked quietly after several silent minutes.

"Hm?"

"It wasn't the Weasleys, and it wasn't your family. You chose to stay so you wouldn't have to be around Harry."

James smiled to himself. The boy was generally very goofy, but deep down he was really perceptive and attentive. "Yeah, it was."

"Do you want to tell me what happened? I remember you came around last Christmas, but is seemed things had worked out after all."

The blond took a good, long look at his friend and suddenly he'd made up his mind. For the next several minutes, he told the other boy about everything: how Harry got in between himself and his siblings, how he kept insisting on being part of his life, even trying to be their father again, how he was involved with his dad and, James suspected, had been all along.

"I know I have to respect them if they want to have something to do with Harry, but..." He let his voice trail off, unable to put his feelings into words.

"Bit it feels like he's taking your family away from you."

"It's stupid, really, because I know they'll always be my family, but I can't help wishing he hadn't come back in the first place. Sure, it's great he's awake and all, but couldn't he have just gone live his own life away from us?"

"Like it or not, he is related to you. It's only natural that the first thing he'd do would be to reach out to his family, because for him you never stopped being his family."

"Yeah, well, the feeling is not mutual."

"But you do know he'll always be a part of your life, right? You don't have to like it or him, but you can't run away forever."

"I know." He sighed. "I know I'm also to blame for fighting with my family so much, but what am I supposed to do? Just keep avoiding the subject and turn it into a taboo between us or something?"

"Wouldn't it be better to just accept that's how you all feel, and move on?"

"Just like that?"

Chase nodded. "Just like that. Just tell Albus and Lily you don't like Harry and want nothing to do with him, but understand they don't feel the same and respect that. I'm sure they're as eager as you are to leave that behind."

James groaned. "Every time we talk about Harry, we end up fighting."

"It takes two to fight, you know. Give them the example and don't let it happen. They are your baby siblings after all, they look up to you and will follow your lead."

The blond shook his head with a smile. "They're much too old and too smart for that."

"You'd be surprised."

"How can you know so much about it? You're a single child, and you never fight with anyone."

"I have a privileged observational post." He replied with a smile, making the other boy laugh.

* * *

"Maybe I shouldn't have come." Harry said quietly, distractedly playing with the platinum blond locks sprawled over his naked chest.

New Year's party had ended a few hours before, and two things stood out to the brunet, comparing this year's festivities with last year's: first, James's absence; second, even if they weren't the best of friends as happened to him in his day, the Malfoy and the Weasley kids were noticeably friendly and many times that day he saw the teenagers talking even though they weren't engaged in Quidditch matches. He was having a good influence on them after all.

"Nonsense, Potter." Draco replied, his voice starting to drag with sleepiness.

"Seriously. James should've been here, and I'm sure I'm the reason why he stayed at school."

"It's not always about you, you know." His mocking tone was ruined when he had to repress a yawn mid-sentence.

"Well, this certainly is."

"Maybe. But it was his choice to stay, and he'll have to come back for the summer holidays and face everything he's been avoiding. Plus, it's good to do something different sometimes."

Harry nodded weakly, and left a kiss on the top of the blond's head. "I was surprised you let him stay at Hogwarts, though."

"He knows how we feel about it, but he's free to make his own choices. And if he needs more time away to cope, it's better he stays there than he comes back and makes a scene."

"I suppose." He sighed, letting his eyes wander to the ceiling. After long minutes lost in thought, he asked quietly, "Do you think we'll ever get along? James and me?"

"Hm?' Came the groggy reply, sounding almost like a groan.

"Never mind." He whispered, smiling to himself.

He could think about it in the morning.

"Come visit us sometime soon." The blond man invited as they walked towards the guest fireplace. They'd just finished breakfast and it was time for Harry to leave. After quickly bidding Astoria goodbye, the blond had offered to walk him out. "If anything, the gardens look exquisite during spring." He added, making the brunet laugh.

"What, now I need an excuse to visit you?" He joked.

"You don't seem to come unless there's one." Draco replied quietly, and the other man looked away, blushing slightly;

"You could come visit me as well."

"I suppose I could."

"So, er, see you around?" He asked with a weak smile, green eyes meeting silver again.

Instead of replying, the blond took a step forward, grabbing Harry by the nape with one hand, the waist with the other, and pulling him close, their lips crashing together with some violence, tongues demanding passage and battling for dominance. They were pressing their bodies against each other so strongly that breathing was becoming increasingly difficult, and when they finally broke the kiss, they were panting hard.

"What was that all about?" The brunet asked when he finally caught his breath.

"I..." Draco started after a few moments, looking away, a faint blush turning his cheeks pink. "I don't know when I'll see you again." He mumbled. "Or if I will."

The response made Harry laugh, and he gently cupped the blond's cheek, making their eyes meet before replying. "I'm not going anywhere. And I'm not breaking up with you again." The reassurance gained him a weak smile. "You can come see me whenever you want, okay?" Draco nodded, and he planted a chaste kiss on his lips. "I'm going now, but we'll talk and set something up soon."

With that, he let go of the other man, turning around and throwing a handful of Floo Powder into the fireplace. When he turned back around, already surrounded by green flames, the blond's smile was as confident as ever.

Harry spent the first few days of the year taking advantage of his days off from the foundation and cleaned up the house, making sure not one speck of dust was left behind. The physical and repetitive work allowed his mind to wander freely, and he found himself thinking about Draco's reaction as he left the manor more often than not.

Until that moment, he hadn't really considered just how much it all must've affected Draco. He knew - he'd witnessed first-hand - the impact his time unconscious had on his children, and sure it'd been hard for all adults involved as well, but he'd never realized just how much. For all the blond knew, he'd lost Harry forever that day at Diagon Alley, and had been forced to take in the children right away, and no doubt Albus, most of all, but all of them for certain, reminded the man of him all the time.

Then he'd miraculously come back and the blond took upon himself to care for him, for anything he might need, and all along it was always about Harry, never Draco. And the brunet hadn't thought about the added weight for the blond when he broke up their relationship; it must've brought back the feelings from when he almost died. He didn't know if they'd ever get back together, or if he'd lost Harry once and for all, only this time to be forced to have the brunet's ghost in and out of his life through the children.

Assuming he wouldn't be attacked again, and succumb to it.

And even now, their lives had become incompatible, with each of them wanting different things from the relationship, and never knowing when, or if, they'd get back together again. And for someone not used to being in touch with his emotional side as he knew Draco wasn't, it must've been especially hard.

Though he knew he couldn't go back to what they used to be, Harry promised himself to be particularly attentive to Draco when they did get together.

Despite their best intentions, they only met once before summer came around, when Saturday Quidditch practice was reinstated, and would happen every year until Lily graduated. Most days, the brunet stayed late at the manor, but with James doing an internship at one of the family businesses, he and Draco would get caught up in business matters and any plans he'd have with the blond would disappear.

And as the boy graduated and started attending business school, in addition to his part-time internship, private time for Harry and Draco became even more scarce. But on the other hand, James returned for his last summer holiday with a completely new attitude, once again close to his siblings and perfectly polite and agreeable towards his biological father, if still rather distant. And time wouldn't change that.

It also appeared to both men the boy hadn't shared his knowledge about the true nature of their relationship with the other kids, judging by the lack of disruption in their general attitude towards them both. Maybe one day they'd find out, or Harry and Draco would be forced to tell them, but they were both more than glad to cross the bridge if they ever came to it.

* * *

"I've met someone."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah."

"Someone nice?"

"Yeah. He's a Muggle, though."

"Muggle, Potter?" Draco complained.

"Oh, lay off, Malfoy. It's so much simpler to deal with Muggles."

"And does he know about you?"

"What about me?" He teased, and the blond rolled his eyes.

"What _does_ he know about you?"

"Enough. The necessary so far."

"And do you think it's got a future?"

"I don't know. I hope so. I like him."

"More than me?" He asked raising an eyebrow.

"It's not hard to like people more than you, Malfoy." He replied, gaining himself a playful punch. "Ouch!" He complained, making Draco laugh.

"If you decide to make it last, you better introduce him to me. You're not getting into a relationship with anyone I don't approve of."

"Ha! What are you now, my father?"

"If I'm to share you with anyone, I better like them." He replied defensively.

Harry lifted himself on one elbow and looked so intensely at the silver orbs he made the other man blush.

"What?" He asked, turning his eyes away.

Without warning, the brunet pressed his lips against Draco's, not deepening the kiss for several moments, and only parting when they were both breathless.

"I'll make sure you meet him before I commit to anything." He said quietly, lying on the blond's chest.

"Good." He replied possessively.

"Do you think this could really work?" Harry asked after a few minutes.

"What?"

"Us. Being together, and sustaining independent relationships at the same time."

"It did before."

"We were different people before."

"We can make it work."

"I don't know if seeing you only every few months is enough. What if I need more? And more after that?"

"Can't we cross that bridge when we come to it?"

"Because it worked so well last time?"

"We'll both have our own lives. Most of the time we'll be too busy to miss each other, and the rest of the time, we can be together."

"You think so?" He asked, looking up and receiving a nod in reply.

"And we'll always be connected, by the children if nothing else. So provided you don't spend another decade in a coma, we won't lose each other again."

The brunet smiled, resting his head back down. "I like that perspective."

It was Draco's turn to smile, and he left a soft kiss on the top of Harry's head.

It didn't take long for them to drift off to sleep, safe in the knowledge that come what may, they'd always have each other.

_Finis_

* * *

**Author's note:** I'd like to thank everyone who went through this journey with me, especially everybody who left me reviews. They are extremely valuable and appreciated! For those of you who haven't, there's still time! Let me know what you think, if you liked the story, hated it, or anything in between... It helps me become a better writer, and makes my day =) Anyway, thank you so much and I hope we meet again soon!


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